THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


'•  •  ••««•!    I*  *r  II 


University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


MEMOIRS 


O  F 


GENERAL  DUMOURIER, 


WRITTEN    BY    HIMSELF. 


.  ,  .  .  VITAM   QUI   IMPENDERR  VERO. 


TRANSLATED  BY  JOHN  FENWICK, 


PART 


PHILADELPHIA: 

PRINTED    BY    SAMUEL    HARRISON    SMITH, 
CHERRY*$TREET,  ABOVE  FOVRTH;STRSJ|r. 

1  7  9  4-' 


DC 


CONTENTS  OF  THE  FIRST  PART. 

CHAP.  I. 
Of  the  General  State  of  Affairs  in  France  3  3 

CHAP.  II. 
Of  the  State  of  the  Armies  —  — •  41 

CHAP.  III. 

General  Duimurier  Departs  from  Leige  to  Paris  50 

CHAP.  IV. 
General  Dumourier  s  abode  at  Paris  58 

CHAP.  V. 
'Trial  of  the  King  65 

CHAP.   VI. 

Fruitless  attempts  of  General  Dumourier  in  be- 
half of  the  King  7 1 

CHAP.   VII. 
Death  of  the  King  — .  —  78 

CHAP.   VIII. 
General  Dumourier  s  conferences  with  Camion      £3 

CHAP.   IX. 

Interview  of  General  Dumourier  'with  feme 
Jacobins  —  —  QO 

..,  CHAP.  X. 
Of  the  Executive  Council  of  France  g§ 

CHAP.  XI. 

Retreat  of  Roland  from  Adminijlration  log 

CHAP.   XII. 

Negociations  with  Holland  and  England  115 

CHAP.   XIII. 

Departure  of  De  Maulde,    of  Maret,  and  of 
General  Dumourier  from  Paris  —         133 

CHAP.  XIV. 
Fruit lefs  Negociations.     Declaration  of  War    1  <2  7 


r-l 


809 


PREFACE. 


IT  is  among  the  misfortunes  that  attend 
General  Dumourier,  to  be  abandoned  by 
the  world ;  to  be  the  outcaft  of  fociety ;  to  be 
compelled  to  fly  from  city  to  city  to  feek  an 
afylum  from  the  rage  and  madriefs  of  coun- 
trymen who  imagine  they  will  ferve  the  public 
caufe  and  rid  the  world  of  a  traitor  if  they  .can 
but  plunge  a  dagger  into  his  breaft  ;  and  to 
avoid  the  wretch  whofe  avarice  would  tempt 
him  to  gain  the  price  offered  for  his  blood  by 
the  Convention.  Compelled  to  live  among 
flrangers  under  the  difguife  of  an  aflumed 
name,  and  to  fubmit  to  the  pain  of  liftening  to 
opinions  on  his  conduct,  equally  fevere  and 
unjuft,  that  are  induftrioufly  circulated  by  the 
hired  journalifts  of  the  different  courts  of  Eu- 
rope, who  beftow  their  praifes  only  on  the  fuc- 
cefsful,  and  every  where  encountering  emi- 
grants* who  detefl  him  with  as  little  reafon, 
and  as  much  ferocity  as  the  Jacobins,  this  man, 
whom  Minifters  and  Courts  received  with 
flattering  careffes  when  he  quitted  the  army, 
but  afterwards  calumniated  and  perfecuted, 
for  having  publifhed  memorials  which  con- 
tained his  real  and  ferious  opinions,  at  length 
obeys  the  call  of  his  duty,  by  giving  to  the 
world  the  Memoirs  of  his  life. 

B  The 


C     vi     ) 

The  moft  extravagant  and  Contradictory 
tales  refpeciing  him  have  filled  the  journals  of 
Europe,  and  portraits  have  been  drawn  of  him 
fo  unlike  each  other,  that  not  only  his  charac- 
ter, but  his  exigence  is  become  an  enigma. 
The  Courier  of  Europe  reprefents  him 
with  the  force  of  Hercules,  the  licentioufnefs 
of  Mark  Anthony,  the  treachery  of  Hanni- 
bal, the  cruelty  of  Sylla,   and  the  military 
and  political  talents  of  Caefar  ;  they  have  alfo 
attributed  to  him,  the  poffeffion  of  immenfe 
riches  in  the  Englifh  funds.     On  the  contra- 
ry the  Journal  of  the  Lower  Rhine  defcribcs 
him    as    pofleffing   talents,  but  being  defi- 
cient in  judgment.     This  opinion,  Dumou- 
rier  regards  as  true  praife,  for  he  was  never 
dcfirous  of  being  thought  fubtile  or  praftifed 
in  the  art  of  changing  his  opinions  according 
to  his  interefts.     He  has  always  had  fixed 
principles  and  a  determined  charafter.    His 
mind  was  formed  by  the  fludy  of  Plutarch  ; 
and  he   has  mixed  too  little  with  men,   to 
be  known  by  any  but  a  feleft  few.     Excep- 
ting during  his  travels  and  his  wars,  he  has 
lived  furroundcd  only  by  his  books,  and  his 
chofen  friends,  of  whom  the  greater  part  no 
longer  exift.     Far  from  efteeming  the  ma- 
xim of  the  Epicureans,  which  recommends 
the  concealment  of  our  acStions,  his  whole 
life  fhall  be  expofcd  to  the  obfervation  and 
judgment  of  his  contemporaries.      He  has 
nothing  to  lofe  by  his  conduct ;  already  he 
is  poor,   calumniated,   profcribed,    all  that 
mankind  regard  as  miierable  ;   but  he  has 
every  thing  to  gain,   fince  men  of  elevated 

and 


(     vii     ) 

and  upright  minds,  who  read  thefe  Memoirs, 
will  become  his  friends.  With  fuch  men 
only  he  defires  to  live,  and  to  whatever  na- 
tion they  belong,  he  fhall  always  regard  them 
as  his  fellow  citizens. 

The  celebrated  Dictator  Fabius  Maximus, 
he  who  alone  could  check  the  victories  of 
Hannibal,  and  whom  Dumourier  earneftly 
endeavoured  to  imitate  in  his  campaign  a- 
gainft  the  king  of  Pruffia,  made  this  obfer- 
vation  to  Paulus  Emilius,  when  he  went  with 
Varro,  to  command  the  army,  "  Let  him 
not  fear  who  thlrjls  for  glory ;  for,  although  we 
of  ten  find  that  true  merit  is  eclipfed  for  a  time, 
yue  have  never  known  It  to  be  entirely  loft;  it 
bur/Is  at  loft  through  the  clouds  which  encircle  It, 
and  appears  arrayed  In  its  bright  and  genuine  co- 
lours." 

Dumourier  thought  like  Fabius,  but  their 
fituations  were  widely  different.  Fabius  re- 
fided  on  his  eftate  with  his  family,  expofed 
indeed  to  the  calumnies  of  a  faction,  but 
honoured  in  the  Senate,  and  by  all  the  fages 
of  Rome.  They  (till  regarded  his  counfels 
and  preferved  him  in  the  command  of  the 
army,  nor  had  ingratitude  effaced  the  many 
fervices  he  had  hitherto  rendered  his  coun- 
try, or  deftroyed  the  expectation  of  his 
ftill  rendering  them  many  more.  Fabius 
was  thus  enabled  to  follow  the  bent  of  his 
mild  and  moderate  difpofition  ;  and  wait, 
in  tranquillity,  the  progrefs  of  truth  and  juf-r 
tice.  Such  are  not  the  happy  circumftances 
of  Dumourier  ;  and  however  fhort  a  time 
he  may  have  to  live,  it  will  be  too  Ions;  if 
BO  it 


(     viii     ) 

it  be  ftained  with  the  injuflice  of  the  public 
opinion.  Not  only  therefore  for  himfelf, 
his  contemporaries,  and  his  country  to  whom 
he  may  one  day  be  ufeful,  but  in  juflice  to 
his  friends,  his  relations,  his  advocates,  he  is 
obliged  to  repel  the  calumnies  which  follow 
him,  and  to  diffipate  the  cloud  which  ob- 
icures  the  truth.  This  he  will  dp  by  an  ho- 
jieft  and  accurate  detail  of  fuch  fafts  as  are 
important,  and  of  whjch  he  was  a  competent 
witnefs. 

For  thefe  reafons  he  is  obliged  to  change 
the  order  of  his  Memoirs,  and  to  fubmit  to 
the  public  opinion  the  third  volume,  which 
contains  the  circumftances  of  the  year  1793. 
Thefe  are  the  more  important  as  they  will 
enable  the  reader  to  forefee  the  iffue  of  the 
ftrange  events  that  have  lately  happened  in 
Europe,  in  ftudying  the  nature  of  their  mo- 
tives and  caufcs.  If  General  Dumourier  have 
flated  any  of  them  erroneoufly,  his  contem- 
poraries are  competent  to  deteft  his  injuf- 
tice,  but  he  has  furely  this  great  reafon  for 
fpeaking  the  fruth,  that  he  may  not  increafe 
the  number  of  his  enemies.  He  defcribes 
the  French  as  they  really  are,  and  not  fuclj 
as  Europe  has  hitherto  regarded  them,  who 
feem  to  believe  that  the  whole  French  na- 
tion are  without  religion,  without  honour, 
or  humanity.  The  French  are  engaged  in 
a  bad  caufe.  We  are  compelled  to  regarc{ 
them  with  horror ;  but  prudence  will  not 
permit  us  to  defpife  them.  They  have  dif- 
played  a  magnificent  courage  ;  and,  had  they 
followed  the  opinion  of  virtuous  and  expe-: 

rienced 


rienced  men,  this  period  of  their  hiftory 
would  have  been  as  honourable  as  it  is  now 
difgraceful  and  wretched. 

Unhappily,  their  licentious  excefles  have 
deftroyed  the  liberties  of  Europe.  The  ex- 
ample of  their  misfortunes,  has  induced 
every  people  to  believe  that  they  had  better 
wear  their  chains  in  peace,  than  fall  into  an 
anarchy  that  can  never  end  but  in  abfolute 
defpotifm. 

There  are  two  queftions  that  naturally  pre- 
fent  themfelves  to  which  Dumourier's  j unifi- 
cation ought  to  reply,  by  Hating  the  mo- 
tives of  his  conduct,  which  appears  to  be 
in  contradiction  "with  his  own  opinions. 

It  is  afked,  why  did  Dumourier,  after  the 
arreft  of  Louis  on  the  loth  of  Auguft,  refufe  to 
obey  the  orders  that  he  had  received  from  another 
general,  to  make  thefoldiers  renew  their  oath  of 
fidelity  to  the  king  ? 

Dumourier  had  then  under  his  command 
10,000  men  in  the  camp  of  Maulde  near 
Tournay,  and  the  Auftrians  who  had  a  much 
larger  army,  were  indefatigable  in  harraffing 
his  troops.  Dillon  had  been  lent  to  remove 
the  general  in  his  command.  The  minifters 
were  then  evidently  inimical  to  the  revo- 
lution ;  and,  as  we  lhall  fee  in  the  fecond 
volume  of  thefe  Memoirs,  purfued  a  conduct 
that  was  the  caufe  of  the  king's  misfortunes. 
The  circumftances  of  the  frightful  fcene  of 
the  loth  of  Auguft,  were  not  accurately 
known  in  the  camp.  To  engage  the  troops 
to  renew  their  oath,  according  to  the  or- 
ders of  General  Dillon,  was  to  prejudge 

the 


the  caufe  of  the  people,  to  unfold  the  ftan- 
dard  of  rebellion  againft  the  nation,  and  to 
engage  the  army  in  a  difpute  refpefting  par- 
ties, at  the  very  moment  when  we  had  a  fo- 
reign enemy  to  combat ;  and  the  inevitable 
confequence  would  have  been  to  have  ex- 
pofed  the  unfortunate  Louis  to  the  daggers 
and  vengeance  of  the  populace. 

Again  it  is  demanded,  how  can  Dumourier 
juftify  his  conduct  at  the  time  when  a  Convention 
was  appointed  for  the  purpofe  of  abolifhing  the 
monarchy  and  ejlablijhing  a  republic,  in  acknow- 
ledging the  authority  of  this  Convention,  giving 
Aisfan&ion  to  the  deflru£tion  of  the  monarchy, 
and  to  the  ajfwned  power  of  the  republic. 

It  was  fhortly  after  the  general's  refufal  to 
give  the  oath  to  the  troops  in  the  camp  of 
Maulde,  that  Fayette  ddeited  from  his  ar- 
my, and  Dumouiier  was  ordered  to  take  the 
command  in  his  (lead.  The  king  of  Pruffia 
Catered  Champagne  with  a  formidable  body 
of  troops ;  and  terror  and  treafon  cniiired. 
his  fuccefs.  Longwi  and  Verdun  were  taken. 
Durnourier,  being  in  force  in  his  camp  at 
Grandpre,  affembled  his  army  at  St.  Mane- 
hould.  The  hiilory  of  France  does  not  pre- 
fent  fo  dangerous  a  crifis.  The  soth  of 
September,  the  day  on  which  the  Conven- 
tion declared  France  to  be  a  republic,  Du- 
mouiierand  Kellerman  repulfed  the  Pruf- 
ii:ms,  who  had  attacked  them  at  Valary. 
The  two  armies  were  in  light  of  each  other 

1  e  very  day  threatened  to  come  to  an 
<  ii^aeement ;  and  this  furely  was  not  the 
moment  to  enter  into  quarrels  refpefting  the 

form 


form  of  government !  The  enemy  were  to 
be  driven  from  the  territories  of  France, 
The  country  was  to  be  faved.  Befidcs,  the  » 
people  were  incenfed  againft  the  king,  whom 
they  regarded  as  a  traitor.  At  fuch  a  period 
to  have  maintained  his  prerogative,  woukl 
have  been  the  fignal  for  his  maflacre.  The 
people  would  have  looked  upon  fuch  an  at- 
tempt as  an  acr.  of  treachery,  which  would 
have  deprived  Dumourier  of  the  confidence 
of  his  countrymen,  and  thereby  have  left 
France  an  eafy  prey  to  the  enemy. 

As  foon  as  the  Pruffians  had  retreated, 
Dumourier  began  the  campaign  in  the  Low 
Countries,  and  it  was  not  till  he  had  gained 
the  Belgians  for  allies,  and  had  acquired  in- 
fluence by  his  fuccefs,  that  he  had  any  rea- 
fon  to  hope  that  he  could  give  peace  to  his 
country,  deliver  the  imprifoned  king,  and 
eftabliih  on  fecure  foundations  the  conftitu- 
tion  of  1789.  After  that  period,  circum- 
fiances  arofe  fo  extremely  contrary  to  all 
poffible  expectation,  Dumourier's  journey 
to  Paris,  and  the  horrible  murder  of  Louis 
XVI.  fo  clearly  convinced  Dumourier  of  the 
guilty  aims  of  the  Convention,  and  the  im- 
placability and  power  of  the  Jacobins,  that 
the  general  refolved  at  all  hazards  to  fepa- 
rate  the  caufe  of  the  country  from  that  of 
the  monfters  by  whom  it.  was  governed.  His 
plan  was  bold.  No  other  perfon  in  France 
had  means  in  his  power,  for  that  purpofe,  fo 
apparently  well  founded.  But  every  cir* 
cumftance  turned  againft  him,  and,  above 
all,  the  inconftancy  of  his  army. 

The 


The  apparent  contradiction  between  Du-1 
mourier's  political  principles  and  his  mili- 
tary conduct  have  drawn  upon  him  the  un- 
juit  reproaches  of  many  of  the  Emigrants, 
and  of  feveral  perfons  of  good  fenfe,  who 
could  only  judge  from  their  miftaken  view 
of  the  fafts.  As  minifter  of  foreign  affairs, 
Dumourier  certainly  has  (hewn  a  fincere  at- 
tachment to  the  Conftitution  ;  of  this  his 
difpatches,  his  difcourfes  to  the  AfTembly,- 
are  an  abundant  proof.  He  has  equally  op- 
pofed  Republicans  and  Royalifts.  He  pro- 
cured the  difmiffion  of  three  minifters  of 
the  former  party,  without  leaguing  himfelf 
with  the  court  faction,  and  in  confequence 
he  was  expofed  to  the  fury  of  the  Jacobins, 
who  loudly  demanded  his  being  fent  to  the 
prifon  of  Orleans.  The  public  opinion  of 
Dumourier's  principles  at  that  period,  was 
fo  decided,  that  the  following  couplet  was 
placed  at  the  bottom  of  his  portrait. 

Inflexible  foutien  du  tronc,  et  de  la  loi, 
11  fut  ami  du  peuple,  il  tut  ami  du  Roi*. 

Afterwards  appointed  to  the  command  of 
the  army,  he  had  neither  time  nor  inclina- 
tion to  concern  himfelf  in  the  intrigues  and 
crimes  of  Paris.  He  was  folely  employed 
in  repelling  the  enemy. 

He  is  reproached,  however,  with  never 
having  changed  his  party,  till  he  was  no 
longer  victorious,  but  the  reproach  is  un- 

juft; 

*  Inflexible  fupporter  of  the  throne  and  of  the  law,  he  was  at 
once  the  friend  of  the  people  and  of  the  king. 


juft ;  for,  in  the  firft  place,  he  never  chang- 
ed his  party,  fince,  although  he  quitted  the 
Republicans,  with  whom  he  had  been  long  dif- 
gufted,  yet  he  did  not  join  the  Royalifts ;  and 
that  no  doubt  might  remain  refpefting  his  opi- 
nion, he  inftantly  proclaimed  his  defire  of 
re-eftablifhing  the  conftitution  of  1789.  Se- 
condly, his  ientiments  were  conftantly  in 
oppofition  to  thofe  of  the  Convention,  the 
Jacobins,  and  the  Minifter  of  War,  during 
the  time  of  his  expedition  into  Belgia,  from 
the  month  of  November,  as  may  be  feen 
in  his  correfpondence  with  Pache,  publifhed 
in  January  1793.  In  this  fame  month  of 
January,  he  fent  to  the  Convention  four 
memorials,  againft  the  tyrannical  decree  of 
the  i5th  of  December,  and  he  neither  pre- 
fented  himfelf  to  the  Convention,  nor  the 
fociety  of  Jacobins  ;  on  the  contrary,  he 
gave  in  his  refignation  at  that  period.  Third- 
ly, compelled  for  his  perfonal  fafety  to  re- 
turn to  the  army,  he  perfevered  in  oppof- 
ing  the  tyranny  and  injuftice  of  the  Con- 
vention. It  was  on  the  i2th  of  March  that 
he  wrote  the  well-known  letter  to  the  Con- 
vention, which  was  conlidered  by  the  Jaco- 
bins as  fo  great  a  crime.  Hence,  before  he 
went  to  engage  the  Prince  of  Cobourg,  and 
to  decide  the  fate  of  France  and  her  ene- 
mies on  the  plains  of  Nerwinde,  his  quar- 
rel with  the  Convention  was  open  and  pro- 
claimed. He  was  profcribed.  He  was, 
therefore,  compelled  to  overthrow  the  Con- 
vention, or  perifh. 

C  The 


The  reproach  that  General  Dumourier 
never  quitted  the  Republican  party  till  he 
was  vanquifhed,  was  cxpreffed  with  the 
greateft  bitternefs,  in  a  letter  written  by 
the  Elector  of  Cologne,  to  the  General, 
which  was  publifhed  with  a  cruel  oftenta- 
tion  which  that  prince  might  have  foreborne 
againft  a  man  then  unfortunate  and  a  fugi- 
tive. But  furely  it  is  to  be  fuppofed,  that 
this  Prince  will  regret  the  injuitice  done  to 
General  Dumourier,  when,  by  the  reading 
oi  thcfe  Memoirs,  he  ihall  be  convinced 
that  it  is  an  injuftice.  None  of  the  wrongs 
the  General  has  endured,  has  afflicted  him 
fo  much  as  this,  fince  the  author  of  it  is 
held  in  fuch  juft  eftimation  throughout  Eu- 
rope. 

Every  nation  in  Europe  muft  be  con- 
vinced, that  itsmoft  important  interefls  are 
involved  in  the  cataftrophe  of  the  French 
Revolution.  If  the  belligerent  powers  fhould 
re-eftablifh  the  monarchy,  the  vengeance  of 
the  nobles,  and  confequent  proscriptions 
will  fall  on  the  greater  part  of  the  people. 
But,  as  the  people  are  fortunately  the  moft 
numerous  body,  as  they  have  enjoyed  the 
bleffings  of  Liberty,  and  felt  the  advan- 
tage of  holding  the  fovereign  power  in  their 
hands,  the  triumph  of  the  nobility  and 
clergy,  would  be  but  momentary ;  it  will 
endure  no  longer  than  while  the  foreign 
troops  are  enabled  to  fupport  them.  Every 
day  will  be  productive  of  >frefh  rebellions, 
and  another  Revolution  ftill  more  deftruc- 

tive 


tive  and  terrible  than  the  prefent,  will  re- 
ftore  the  people  to  the  exercife  of  the  fove- 
reignty.  But  if,  by  the  imbecility  of  the 
allied  powers,  the  National  Convention  and 
the  Jacobins  are  enabled  to  maintain  the 
republic,  then  will  their  fyftern  of  frater- 
nization be  exercifed  with  irrefiftible  force  ; 
and  finally,  not  only  the  neighbouring  na- 
tions, but  the  moft  diftant  countries  will 
imitate  the  rebellion  of  France,  and  all  Eu- 
rope be  reduced  to  a  ftate  of  anarchy,  while 
by  a  grand  and  rapid  Revolution,  the  exifU 
ing  governments  of  the  world  will  be  ha- 
flened  to  definition.  There  is  a  juft  me- 
dium, however,  which  the  fenfible  part  of 
the  French  nation  eagerly  defire  to  be  a- 
dopted,  and  which  would  infure  general 
tranquillity  to  Europe ;  it  is  that  France 
fliould  become  a  limited  monarchy. 

It  is  to  this  end  the  fovereigns  of  Eu- 
rope ought  to  direft  their  efforts ;  and  it 
is  by  fo  doing  only  they  can  fecure  the 
fafety  of  the  monarch  who  (hall  mount  the 
throne  of  France.  It  is  the  only  bond  of 
univerfal  peace. 

If  it  be  true  that  the  ancient  monarchy 
cannot  be  reftored  in  France,  it  is  no  left 
certain  that  the  fpecies  of  Democracy,  which 
exifts  there  $t  prefent,  cannot  be  of  long 
duration. 

Abftracl   notions   have   been   too  touch 

confulted  in  this  important  matter,,  which 

may  eafily  be  reduced  to  a  few  limple  truths. 

There  is  no  political  conftitution  which  will 

C  a 


not  render  a  people  happy,  if  it  be  the 
choice  of  the  people,  and  if  the  govern- 
ment be  enabled  to  aft  without  any  other 
reftraint  than  that  of  the  law.  The  monar-* 
chical  form  of  government  is  exclusively 
fuited  to  large  and  populous  nations,  be-r 
caufe  fuch  only  are  enabled  to  provide  for 
the  expence  of  monarchy.  The  republican 
form  is  better  fuited  to  fmall  and  poor  coun-r 
tries,  becaufe  it  is  adminiftered  with  lefs 
expence.  In  the  former,  there  is  a  unity 
of  power,  which  coftitutes  the  perfection 
of  government ;  and  it  alfo  includes  fecrecy 
and  promptitude,  without  which  great  and 
complicated  affairs  cannot  be  faccefsfully 
conducted.  Ariftocracy  is  neceflary  in  a 
Republic  ;  drawing  together  the  authorities 
that  otherwife  would  be  without  union,  and 
excluding  the  tyranny  that  refults  from  the 
arbitrary  will  of  a  people  governing  them- 
felvcs.  Pure  democracy  will  always  pro- 
duce an  inconliftent  and  ineffectual  govern- 
ment, becaufe  it  neither  admits  of  union 
of  opinions,  nor  of  prudence,  promptitude, 
nor  fecrecy  ;  and  it  includes  in  itfelf  prinr 
ciples  that  beget  diforders  among  the  peo- 
ple, and  are  entirely  fubverfive  of  their 
happinefs. 

All  the  Republics  that  we  are  acquainted 
with,  ancient  or  modern,  have  been  melior 
rated  by  Ariftocracy.  We  mud  not  even 
except  Athens,  which  was  devoid  of  fuccefs 
and  iplendor,  excepting  when  its  councils 
were  directed  by  Ariftides,  Themiflocles, 

Cyrnon, 


(     xv  ii     ) 

Cymon,  and  Pericles ;  and  was  reduced  to 
flavery,  at  firft  by  Sparta,  and  afterwards 
by  Philip  of  Macedon,  when  the  demo- 
cracy triumphed,  and  when  celebrated  men 
were  no  longer  at  the  head  of  its  affairs. 

The  civilization  of  our  manners,  the  ex- 
tent of  our  commerce,  our  wealth,  our 
luxuries,  in  a  word  all  the  enjoyments  on 
which  are  founded  the  fplendor  and  hap- 
pinefs  of  our  age,  are  oppofed  to  the  efta- 
blifhmcnt  of  a  Republic.  If  we  will  have 
a  perfeft  equality  among  men  for  the  bafis 
of  our  political  union,  we  muft  go  back  to 
the  fimplicity  of  the  firft  ages,  caft  away  our 
advantages,  and  return  to  a  ftate  of  nature. 
A  government  founded  on  equality  can  be 
nothing  more  than  the  contra6l  of  a  favage 
people,  who,  for  the  firft  time,  have  ajf- 
fembled  in  fociety. 

The  French  have  erred  ftrangely  in  this 
refpeft.  They  compare  themfelves  to  the 
firft  Romans ;  but  Brutus,  in  freeing  Rome 
from  the  Tarquins  who  were  deteftable  ty- 
rants, in  abolilhing  royalty,  was  better  in- 
formed of  the  interefts  of  men,  than  to  cfta- 
blifh  equality  and  democracy.  He  preferved 
the  royal  authority  while  he  divided  it  be- 
tween the  Confuls,  to  whom  he  left  the 
Lictors,  the  Fafces,  and  the  Ax,  as  well  as 
all  the  real  attributes  of  royalty.  He  new 
modelled  thefovereign  power,  by  ordaining 
that  the  hands  which  held  it  fhould-  be 
changed  every  year.  Yet  the  Confuls  were 
taken  from  the  Senate,  that  is  to  fay,  from 

the 


(     xviii      ) 

the  Ariftocracy.  Afterward,  indeed,  new 
changes  took  place  in  the  government,  when 
bold  plebeians  attacked  the  privileges  of  the 
fenate  by  their  decemvirs  and  tribunes.  But 
the  government  remained  five  hundred  years 
an  ariftocracy :  and  when  the  people  had  made 
innovations,  if  the  fenate  had  not  conceived 
the  fublime  policy  of  rendering  the  Roman 
people  a  nation  of  conquerors,  its  govern- 
ment would  have  refembled  that  which  we 
have  fince  fecn  in  the  Republic  of  Florence  : 
Always  feeble,  always  agitated  by  civil  wars, 
and  open  to  the  invafion  of  every  ambitious 
neighbour,  Rome  would  have  been  con- 
quered, or  would  have  become,  a  dower, 
or  a  heritage  like  Florence ;  and  fcarcely 
would  hiftory  have  fpoken  of  that  city, 
which  her  ariftocracy  rendered  the  moft 
celebrated  of  the  whole  world. 

But  even  this  fpecies  of  republic  which 
Brutus  founded,  and  which  may  be  confi- 
dered  as  a  mixed  government,  extending 
only  over  a  finall  territory,  it  would  have 
been  impoffible  to  have  re-eftablifhed,  after 
the  death  of  Csefar,  or  Tiberius,  or  Nero. 
The,  circumftances  of  the  Roman  Empire, 
at  that  period,  would  have  deftroyed  the 
Republican  fpirit  in  its  birth.  The  bounds 
of  the  empire  were  too  much  enlarged ;  the 
Romans  were  too  rich ;  luxury,  arts,  and 
all  the  enjoyments  that  fpring  from  them, 
had  fpread  their  influence  too  much  to  ac- 
cord with  the  aufterity  of  a  Republic.  And 
liberty  does  not  necefiarily  demand  a  Re- 
publican. 


publican  government.  England  is  a  proof, 
that  a  people  may  be  free  under  a  monarch. 
Liberty  confifts  in  being  free  from  obedience 
to  all  laws  but  thofe  that  the  people  them- 
felves  have  made.  The  law  is  the  fanc- 
tuary  in  which  the  fovereignty  refidcs  ;  and 
kings  or  other  magiftrates  to  whom  the  exe- 
cutive power  Is  delegated,  being  fubje6t  to 
the  law,  the  people  are  as  free  as  they  can 
be  confidently  with  their  happinefs.  Such 
are  the  bounds  of  a  true  liberty,  and  all  be- 
yond is  anarchy. 

Nothing  can  be  better  proved  than  that  a 
republic  cannot  now  be  eftabliftied,  without 
the  deftruction  of  thofe  very  advantages 
which  diftinguifh  the  age.  We  cannot  ob- 
tain the  object,  without  confounding  pro- 
perty, and  forcing  the  minds  of  men  to  fub- 
miffloii  by  terror  and  crimes.  To  be  a  Re- 
public, we  muft  firft  be  in  a  ftate  of  an- 
archy ;  but  does  anarchy  condu£t  to  equality 
and  liberty?  No.  It  overthrows  all  efta- 
bliihed order ;  and,  in  the  place  of  here- 
ditary authority,  fubftitutes  that  of  the  po- 
pulace, which  being  directed  by  lefs  reafon- 
able  principles,  neceffarily  exercifes  an  in- 
fupportable  ryranny  :  Of  which  France  is  an 
example.  The  palaces  and  rich  property  of 
the  nobility  and  clergy  cannot  be  equally 
divided,  and  they  become  the  prey  of  thofe 
miicreants  that  are  the  moft  depraved  and 
daring,  and  perhaps,  one  day  we  may  fee 
the  Ex-capuchin  Chabot,  Lord  of  Chantilly ; 
Bazire,  Lord  of  Chambord,  and  Merlin, 

Lord 


Lord  of  Chant eloup  ;  and  filling  the  places 
of  the  great  Conde,  the  Marefchal  de  Saxe, 
and  the  Duke  de  Choifeuil.  Perhaps  we 
fhall  fee  changes  a  thoufand  times  more  ex- 
travagant and  ridiculous.  And  what  good 
will  refult  to  the  people  by  thefe  hideous 
changes  ?  They  will  ftill  have  matters.  But 
of  what  a  new  and  contemptible  race  ! 

This  difaftrous  ttate  of  things  is  at  prefent 
confined  to  France,  but  its  democratic  or 
rather  monftrous  Republic  cannot  exift  but 
by  the  fpreading  of  anarchy  among  all  its 
neighbours.  Thus  her  intereft,  and  every 
part  of  her  policy,  (which  me  is  not  even 
defirous  of  concealing)  confifts  in  preaching 
and  propagating  anarchy.  As  experience 
proves  that  it  is  eafy  to  deceive  and  betray 
a  people  in  preaching  liberty  to  them,  (fince 
it  is  lefs  difficult  to  create  confufion  than  to 
reftore  order),  and  as  the  poor  are  more 
numerous  in  every  country  than  the  rich 
and  the  noble,  it  is  to  be  feared  that,  tempted 
by  the  example  and  fupport  of  the  licentious 
people  of  France,  all  nations  will  imitate 
her  exceffes,  and  turbulence  and  anarchy 
become  univerfal. 

This  confufion,  accompanied  with  all  its 
miferies,  is  inevitable,  if  the  foreign  powers 
are  unable  to  flop  the  progrefs  of  the  French 
Revolution.  The  forces  employed  by  the 
allies  are  fo  great  that  fuccefs  is  infallible  if 
they  be  directed  by  wifdom  and  prudence. 
But  if  the  allies  abufe  their  power  and  rob 
the  unfortunate  family,  whofe  defenders  they 

avo\v 


(     xxi     ) 

avow  themfelves  to  be,  the  excefs  of  the. 
French  people  will  bejuftified,  and  the  lame 
dangers  and  .misfortunes  will  again  dcfolate 
Europe. 

General  Dumourier  has  difcuiTed  this  fub- 
je6l  more  fully  in  another  work,  which  he 
has  delivered  to  perfonswho  have  promifed 
to  convey  it  to  the  Emperor,  and  he  hopes 
for  the  fake  of  mankind,  that  it  will  not  be 
neglected  or  forgotten, 

Although  General  Durnourier  has  afferted 
the  neceillty  of  founding  every  liable  go- 
vernment on  an  ariftocracy,  it  is  not  to  be 
underi'lood  that  he  would  grant  all  right  and 
privilege  to  the  nobles  and  nothing  to  the 
people-.  Nobility  was  in  its  original  the 
reward  of  virtue  ;  and  the  titles,  honours, 
and  feudal  rights  attached  to  it,  are  the  legi- 
timate property  of  their  defcendants,  and 
nothing  could  be  more  unjuft  than  to  deprive 
fuch  of  the  nobility  as  have  not  borne  arms 
againft  France  pf  any  part  of  their  hereditary 
rights.  But  nobles  fhould  have  no  privileges 
in  the  eye  of  the  law,  either  in  engrofling  of 
places,  or  in  exemption  from  duties.  In  a 
free  government,  all  are  equal  in  this  refpect, 
and  a  nobleman  is  a  iimple  citizen,  He  has 
no  juft  claim  to  the  acquifition  pf  places  but 
by  his  fervices,  his  talents,  apd  his  virtues* 
He  has  thjs  advantages  of  education,  leiiiire, 
and  thej  example  of  his  anceftry.  Of  thefe 
it  is  his  duty  to  avail  himfelf  ;  but  thefe  are 
his  only  juft  aelvantages  ;  and  in  this  fyftem 
is  to  be  found  the  only  true  equality  that 
has  exifted  in  any  age,  or  among  any  people. 
"P  It 


(     xxii     ) 

I  It  is  not  becaufe  all  the*  members  of  the 
Convention,  and  the  generals  of  the  armies 
of  France  have  been  raifed  from  among  the 
vulgar  that  the  decrees  of  the  former,  or  the 
military  conduft  of  the  latter,  excite  the  dif- 
dain  and  the  indignation  of  Europe,  but  be- 
caufe they  are  abfurd,  criminal,  ignorant, 
and  cruel. 

Certainly  a  ftatemay  exift  without  a  king, 
a  court,  or  a  nobility  ;  but  it  is  not  true 
that  a  great  and  powerful  nation  can  exift 
without  nobility  ;  for  nobility  being  the 
reward  of  virtue,  becomes  a  motive  not 
eafily  to  be  deflroyed  in  the  defcendants  of 
the  virtuous  man. 

This  applies  only  to  nobility,  as  it  exifted 
in  its  origin,  for  that  which  is  fold  by  kings 
is  a  wretched  abufe,  the  offspring  of  the  ava- 
lice  of  kings,  and  will'ceafe  of  itfelf  as  a  ri- 
diculous vanity,  when  titles  lhall  no  longer 
be  attended  with  pecuniary  privileges, 
which  the  public  opinion  has  forever  abo~ 
lifhed  in  France,  and  which  if  an  attempt  be 
made  to  reftore  it  by  foreign  powers  will  but 
ferve  to  produce  another  Revolution. 

The  ariilocracy  that  General  Dumouiier 
regards  as-ncceffary  to  all  government  is  that 
of  virtue  and  talent.  To  govern  men,  to 
fit  in  judgment  upon  a  hues,  or  to  decide  on 
queftions  of  property,  to  mftrucft  men  in 
the  duties  of  religion,  to  conduft  the  citi- 
zens of  a  great  empire  in  war,  are  employ- 
ments that  rnuft  be  ftudied  as  other  employ- 
ments are.  The  declaration  of  the  Mights 
of  Man,  and  the  Confutation  to  which  'it 

feiveel 


(     xxiii     ) 

ferved  as  a  bafis,  will  inflruct  the  future 
king  of  the  French,  in  what  manner  it  is 
his  duty  to  feleft  thofe  who  are  to  aid  him 
in  the  government  of  the  kingdom.  The 
right  of  chooiing  iuch  men: is  the  nobleft  at- 
tribute of  royalty.  Let  us  examine  thatfub- 
lime  Conflitution,  and  we  will  find  that  no 
condition  can  be  found  more  happy  for  a 
wife  and  virtuous  man  than  that  of  a  king  of 
France. 

Frenchmen,  liflen  to  the  temperate  and 
informed  part  of  Europe,  again  adopt  with 
fincerity,  that  true  code  cf  philofophy,  and 
your  monarch  will  be  •  1  pow- 

erful, your  nobility  will  again  become  wor- 
thy of  their  anceftors,  your  clergy  pious, 
worthy,  and  ufeful,  and  you  will  become  the 
happieft  nation  of  the  earth  ! 

Such  is  the  zealous  wifh  of  a  man  whom 
you  would  deftroy,  becaufe  he  favcd  your 
country,  and  has  always  fpoken  with  fince- 
rity ;  whom  the  Emigrants  load  with  calum- 
nies, becaufe  in  quitting  his  country  he 
would  ,not  turn  his  arms  againft  her  like 
themfelves  ;  whom  the  minifters  of  foreign 
courts  declared  to  be  a  dangerous  man  be- 
caufe he  afferts  that  the  fovereign  power  re- 
fides  in  the  people.  No  fufferings  will  in- 
duce him  to  change  either  his  opinions  or 
his  conduct,  or  his  withes  for  your  happinefs, 
fince  reaibn  and  not  the  chances  of  fortune 
ought  to  conduct  the  wife  man. 

And  you  alib,  fovereigns  of  Europe,  be 
perfuadcd  that  the  pcrlecuted  man  whom 
you  fcem  to  pondenjijji  to  whom  you  refufe 

the 


C     xx  iv     ) 

the  afylum  which  he  ought  to  find  among 
you,  although  he  brings  no  other  title  than  a 
pure  and  honeft  mind,  be  .perfuaded  that  he 
is  influenced  by  the  love  of  mankind,  which 
infpires  him  with  refpecl:  for  all  juft  autho- 
rity, that  he  is  actuated  with  the  defire  of 
feeing  peace  reftorcd  to  all  nations,  that  he 
abhors  war,  and  ^enounc-s  it  for  hit  ••'•'«;  If, 
even  in  the  fei  vi_  of  his  country,  excepting 
when  he  believes  it  to  b°  neceflary  tq  an  eft 
the  courfe  of  ambition  and  iir 


A  BRIEf 


BRIEF     ACCOUNT    OF    THK 
LIFE    OF 

GENERAL   DUMOURIER, 

EXTRACTED  FROM  A  LETTER  WRITTEN  TO  A  FRIEND-. 


AT  prefent,  my  dear  friend,  let  us  quit 

thefe  abftrad  notions,  too  fublime  to  be  the  ge- 
neral fubjed  of  a  letter,  and  let  us  enquire  what 
is  the  relult  of  fuch  principles.  It  is  that  we 
ought  to  do  all  the  good  we  can  in  our  ftations ;  to 
be  humane;  but,  above  all,  to  be  juft.  It  is 
never  our  duty  to  enquire  what  the  opinions  of 
men  refpecling  us  will  be,  and  our  aclions  ought 
never  to  be  influeiiLcd  by  an  attention  to  the 
queition  of  what  may  be  thought  of  them.  It  is 
in  times  of  great  public  commotion,  during  the 
revolutions  of  empires,  that  this  principle  ought 
to  be  maintained  with  the  greateft  firmnefs.  It  is 
then  that  the  juft  man  will  call  forth  his  talents  to 
fave  his  country,  exert  his  genius  to  reprefent 
the  dangers  of  excefs,  and  his  courage  to  ftand 
between  the  nation  and  a  great  crime. 

He  will  be  hated  and  perfecuted  by  all  parties, 
fmce  he  will  not  flatter  the  paflions  of  fa*<5tion ; 
but  he  confoles  himfelf  in  recollecting  that  he 
performs  his  duty.  Perfecutions  appear  but  an 
incident  that  he  was  to  expecl ;  and  he  fupports 
them  with  fortitude,  becaufe  he  knows  they  are 
the  effec"l  of  miftake  that  cannot  be  lafting. 

Hiftory  reftores  the  virtuous  man  to  his  jufl 
rank  among  his  fellow-citizens.  My  enemies 
cannot  deny  that  I  have  acquired  great  military 
fame  ;  but,  to  obfcure  it,  they  paint  me  as  a  faith- 

E  lefs, 


lefs,  immoral,  unprincipled  man.  They  would 
drive  me  from  the  theatre  of  Europe  to  make  room 
for  meaner  actors.  I  am  willing  to  remain  a 
fpeclator  of  the  fcene,  but  I  cannot  confent  to 
defcend  from  the  flage  with  opprobrium.  Thefe 
confiderations  have  driven  me  to  two  decilive 
measures.  The  fir  ft,  to  publHh  the  fads  that 
juftify  the  latter  period  of  my  public  life,  which 
has  been  the  moft  calumniated.  The  fecond,  to 
deliver  myfelf  up  into  the  hands  of  the  emperor, 
who,  instigated  and  deceived  by  the  grofs  calum- 
nies of  my  perfecutors,  has  given  orders  to  have 
me  arreiled.  Prudence  perhaps  would  dictate  a 
different  conduct  on  my  part,  but  duty  refts  on 
other  calculations.  Thefe  are  mine :  that  this 
valuntary  furrender  of  myfelf  into  his  power 
ought  to  convince  the  emperor  of  my  innocence, 
and  incline  him  to  lay  aiide  his  prejudices.  He 
is  reprefented  as  a  juft  man ;  I  believe  him  to  be 
fuch.  He  will  value,  the.  confidence  I  place  in 
his  character,  he  will  produce  the  accufations  they 
have  urged  againlt  me,  and  I  fhall  prove  their 
falfehood.  Thefe  memoirs  will  have  appeared, 
in  the  interval,  tojuflify  me  to  the  world;  and, 
having  gained  the  confidence  of  a  monarch  even 
more  than  any  other  intereiled  in  the  fe-eflablifh- 
ment  of  peace  and  order,  I  may  again  render 
fervices  to  humanity  and  my  unhappy  country. 
Should  the  emperor  refufe  to  hear  ray  juftifica- 
tion,  and  conlign  me  to  the '  oblivion  of  a  prifcn, 
I  mall  only  have  to  iuffer  and  to  die.  But  this 
hiftory  of  my  life  will  vindicate  my  name.  The 
confequences  of  the  treachery  and  injuitice  of  my 
perfecutors  will  fall  on  themfelves ;  and  the  em- 
peror himfelf  will  regret  me. 

In  the  approaching  month,  I  fhall  be  fifty-five 
years  of  age.  Shall  I  really  fuffer  lefs,  if,  by 
fhamefully  concealing  myfelf,  I  can  efcape  a  few 
days  of  reproach  or  imprifonment  ? 

I  will 


[     xxv  ii     ] 

I  will  now  give  you  a  fhort  hiftory  of  my  life, 
which  may  ierve  as  a  fiipplement  to  my  memoirs, 
if  I  am  not  allowed  time  to  fmim.  them.  I  was 
born  at  Cambray  in  1739,  of  paients  not  affluent, 
although  noble.  My  father  was  a  man  of  great 
virtue  and  underftanding ;  he  bellowed  on  me  a 
very  careful  and  extenfive  education;  at  eighteen 
years  of  age  I  became  a  foldier ;  and  at  two-^and- 
twenty  I  was  honoured  with  the  crofs  of  St.  Louis, 
and  had  received  twenty-two  wounds. 

On  peace  being  made  in  1 763,  I  began  my  tra- 
vels, to  ftudy  the  languages  and  manners  of  diffe- 
rent nations.  The  Emigrants  have  faid,  that  at 
this  time,  I  was  employed  as  a  fpy  by  the  French 
miniftry.  It  is  not  improbable  that  the  petit- 
wait  res  of  Tarentum  and  Athens  (if  there  were 
any  fuch  men  there)  have  faid  as  much  of  Py- 
thagoras and  Plato. 

In  1768,  I  was  put  upon  the  ftaff  belonging 
to  the  army  in  Cornea ;  and,  having  ferved  with 
reputation  in  the  two  campaigns  of  1768  and 
1 769,  -I  was  railed  to  the  rank  of  Colonel. 

In  1770,  the  Duke  de  Choifeuil  appointed  me 
minifter  to  the  confederates  of  Poland  ;  and  I 
commanded  a  body  of  men  in  that  country  during 
two  campaigns,  and  concluded  feveral  very  im- 
portant negotiations  with  various  fuccefs.  As  the 
meafures  of  the  confederates  were  ill  concerted, 
their  revolution  was  unfortunate,  .and  ended  in 
the  partition  of  Poland. 

In  1772,  the  Marquis  of  Monteynard,  minifter 
of  war,  employed  me  in  correcting  and  reviling 
the  military  code  of  laws ;  at  the  end  of  the  fame 
year,  this  minifter  by  the  expreis  order  of  Louis 
the  XV.  entrufted  me  with  the  management  of 
a  fecret  negotiation  relative  to  the  revolution  in. 
Sweden ;  but,  having  received  my  iaftrudions 
on  this  affair  immediately  from  the  king  himfelf, 
and  unknown  to  the.  Duke  D'Aiguillon,  minifter 
E2  of 


[     xxvi     ] 

lefs,  immoral,  unprincipled  man.  They  would 
drive  me  from  the  theatre  of  Europe  to  make  room 
for  meaner  actors.'  I  am  willing  to  remain  a 
fpeclator  of  the  fcene,  but  I  cannot  confent  to 
defcend  from  the  flage  with  opprobrium.  Thefe 
con  fide  rat  ions  have  driven  me  to  two  deciiive 
mealures.  The  firft,  to  publiih  the  facls  that 
juilify  the  latter  period  of  my  public  life,  which 
has  been  the  moft  calumniated.  The  fecond,  to 
deliver  myfelf  up  into  the  hands  of  the  emperor, 
who,  inftigated  and  deceived  by  the  grofs  calum- 
nies of  my  perfecutors,  has  given  orders  to  have 
me  arrefted.  Prudence  perhaps  would  dictate  a 
different  conduct  on  my  part,  but  duty  refts  on 
other  calculations.  Thefe  are  mine :  that  this 
valuntary  furrender  of  myfelf  into  his  power 
ought  to  convince  the  emperor  of  my  innocence, 
and  incline  him  to  lay  alide  his  prejudices.  He 
is  reprefented  as  a  juft  man ;  I  believe  him  to  be 
fuch.  He  will  v;ilue  the.  confidence  I  place  in 
his  character,  he  will  produce  the  accufations  they 
have  urged  againlt  me,  and  I  fhall  prove  their 
falfehood.  Thefe  memoirs  will  have  appeared,, 
in  the  interval,  to juftify  me  to  the  world ;  and, 
having  gained  the  confidence  of  a  monarch  even 
more  than  any  other  intereiled  in  the  re-eftablifh- 
ment  of  peace  and  order,  I  may  again  render 
fervices  to  humanity  and  my  unhappy  country. 
Should  the  emperor  refufe  to  hear  ray  juflifica- 
tion,  and  conlign  me  to  the 'oblivion  of  a  prifcn, 
I  fhall  only  have  to  iuffer  and  to  die.  But  this 
hiftory  of  my  life  will  vindicate  my  name.  The 
confequences  of  the  treachery  and  injiifHce  of  my 
perfecutors  will  fall  on  themfelves ;  and  the  em- 
peror himfelf  will  regret  me. 

In  the  approaching  month,  I  fhall  be  fifty-five 
years  of  age.  Shall  I  really  fuffer  iefs,  if,  by 
mamefully  concealing  myfelf,  I  can  efcape  a  few 
days  of  reproach  or  imprifonment  ? 

J  will 


[     xxvii     ] 

I  will  now  give  you  a  fhort  hifiory  of  my  life, 
which  may  ierve  as  a  fupplement  to  my  memoirs, 
if  I  am  not  allowed  time  to  finim  them.  I  was 
born  at  Cambray  in  1739,  of  parents  not  affluent, 
although  noble.  My  father  was  a  man  of  great 
virtue  and  underitanding ;  he  bellowed  on  me  a 
very  careful  and  extenfive  education;  at  eighteen 
years  of  age  I  became  a  foldier ;  and  at  two-and- 
twenty  I  was  honoured  with  the  crofs  of  St.  Louis, 
and  had  received  twenty-two  wounds. 

On  peace  being  made  in  1763,  I  began  my  tra- 
vels, to  ftudy  the  languages  and  manners  of  diffe- 
rent nations.  The  Emigrants  have  faid,  that  at 
this  time,  I  was  employed  as  a  fpy  by  the  French 
miniftry.  It  is  not  improbable  that  the  petit- 
wait  res  of  Tarentum  arid  Athens  (if  there  were 
any  fuch  men  there)  have  faid  as  much  of  Py- 
thagoras and  Plato. 

In  1768,  I  was  put  upon  the  ftaff  belonging 
to  the  army  in  Cornea ;  and,  having  ferved  with 
reputation  in  the  two  campaigns  of  1768  and 
1 769,  •  I  was  railed  to  the  rank  of  Colonel. 

In  1770,  the  Duke  de  Choifeuil  appointed  me 
minifter  to  the  confederates  of  Poland  ;  and  I 
commanded  a  body  of  men  in  that  country  during 
two  campaigns,  and  conducted  ieveral  very  im- 
portant negotiations  -with  various  fucceis.  As  the 
meafures  of  the  confederates  were  ill  concerted, 
their  revolution  was  unfortunate,  .and  ended  in 
the  partition  of  Poland. 

In  1772,  the  Marquis  of  Monteynard,  minifler 
of  war,  employed  me  in  corredhig  and  reviling 
the  military  code  of  laws ;  at  the  end  of  the  fame 
year,  this  minifter  by  the  exprefs  order  of  Louis 
the  XV.  entrufted  me  with  the  management  of 
a  fecret  negotiation  relative  to  the  revolution  in 
Sweden ;  but,  having  received  my  inftrudions 
on  this  affair  immediately  from  the  king  hirafelf, 
and  unknown  to  the,  Duke  D'Aiguillon,  mini'fter 
£2  of 


(     xxviii     ) 

of  foreign  affairs  ;  I  \vas  arrefted  at  Hamburg  in 
1773,  and  conducted  to  the  Baftile  by  the  orders 
of  thaf  minifter.  The  irrefolute  Louis  XV. 
yielding  to  the  importunities  of  Madame  du  Barry 
his  miftrefs,  and  the  Duke  Aiguillon,  difgraced 
the  virtuous  Monteynard,  forebore  to  inform  the 
Duke  of  the  authority  he  had  given  me  to'  nego- 
tiate, and  fuffered  me  to  bear  the  weight  of  a 
criminal  profecution,  which  the  Duke  D'  Aiguillon 
iufpecting  the  truth,  feared  to  carry  to  all  its  ex- 
tremity. I  rejected  offers  of  friendfhip  and  pro- 
teclion  made  me  by  this  defpotic  minifter  whom  I 
.did  not  efleem;  and  after  lying  fix  months  in  the 
Baftile,  I  was  baniihed  to  the  Caftle  of  Caen  for 
three  months. 

Louis  XV.  died  foon  after  ;  and  D'  Aiguillon 
was  difgraced.  I  had  no  inclination  to  take  advan- 
tage of  the  expiration  of  the  Lettre  de  Cachet,  for 
the  purpofe  of  regaining  my  liberty  ;  I  was  anxi- 
ous to  be  completely  juftified,  and  therefore  peti- 
tioned Lcuis  XVI.  to  remove  me  to  the  Baftile  and 
to  order  a  revifion  of  my  trial.  The  king  would 
not  permit  me  to  remain  in  prifon,  and  com- 
manded M.  du  Muy,  M.  de  Vergennes,  and 
M.  de  Sartine  to  revife  the  trial,  and  thofe  three 
miniilers  figned  a  declaration  that  1  had  been  un- 
juftly  profecuted.  Immediately  after  I  was  fent 
to  Lille,  in  my  rank  of  colonel,  to  make  a  report 
refpecling  the  new  military  manoeuvres  which  the 
Baron  de  Pirfch  had  brought  from  Pruilia. 
I  had  alfo  a  commiflion  to  exatnine  a  plan  for 
irriproving  the  navigation  of  the  river  Lys,  and 
another  plan  of  forming  a  harbour  in  the  channel 
at  Ambleteufe.  And  thefe  employments  occu- 
pied the  latter  end  of  the  year  1774,  and  the  whole 


In  1776,  I  was  joined  in  a  commifTion  with  the 
Chevalier  D'Oify,  captain  of  a  man  of  war,  and 
Colonel  la  Roziere,  one  of  the  ablefb  engineers  in 

Europe 


•  (     xxix     ) 

Europe,  to  determine  on  a  proper  place  in  the 
channel  for  the  conftruclion  of  a  naval  port.  I 
parted  the  year  1777,  in  the  country  twenty 
leagues  from  Paris.  It  is  the  only  period  of  re- 
pofe  in  my  life.  At  the  end  of  that  year,  I  was 
invited  to  Paris,  by  M.  de  Montbarey,  minifter  of 
war,  on  account  of  the  rupture  between  England 
and  her  colonies,  which  I  had  long  predicted. 

In  1778,  I  procured  the  office  of  commandant 
of  Cherbourg  to  be  revived  and  given  to  me. 
Being  perfuaded  that  Cherbourg  was  better  calcu- 
lated that  any  other  place  in  the  channel  for  a  na- 
tional harbour,  and  being  aided  by  the  zeal,  acti- 
vity, and  influence  of  the  Duke  dTIareourt, 
governor  of  the  province,  I  obtained  a  decihon,  in 
favour  of  Cherbourg,  of  a  queftion  that  had  been 
agitated  during  an  hundred  years,  concerning  the 
preference  to  be  given  to  Cherbourg  or  La  Hogue, 
for  the  fite  of  a  naval  port.  From  that  time  till 
1789,  I  was  occupied  in  fuperintending  the 
works  of  Cherbourg  ;  and,  during  that  period,  I 
was  but  three  times  at  Paris.  When  I  firft  arrived 
at  Cherbourg,  it  contained  no  more  than  feven 
thoufand  three  hundred  inhabitants,  and  when  I 
quitted  that  place  it  contained  nearly  twenty  thou- 
fand  inhabitants. 

The  emigrants,  not  contented  with  faying  I  was 
a  fpy  from  the  mmiftry  while  I  was  on  my  travels, 
have  alfo  reported  that  I  was  employed  by  the 
war  office  as  one  of  the  tools  of  itsfecret  intrigues, 
although  the  time  that  I  have  palled  at  Paris,  in 
the  different  journeys  I  made  to  that  place  during 
twelve  years,  did  not  altogether  amount  to  fix 
months,  and  although  in  theie  journeys  I  very 
rarely  vifited  Verfailles. 

Let  us  review  this  hiflory  :  twenty  two  wounds 
received  in  battle,  fix  campaigns  made  in  Germany, 
two  in  Corfica,  and  two  in  Poland,  important 
.trufls  difcharged,  a  city  raifed  from  obfcurity  to  a 

'flou- 


£     xxx     ] 

fkmrifhing  condition,  a  naval  port  eflablifhed, 
fortified,  and  rendered  fit  for  the  purpoles  of  the 
navy,  twenty  years  fpent  in  travels,  that  had  a 
knowledge  of  mankind  for  their  objed,  and  in  fine 
the  ftudy  of  languages,  of  the  military  art,  and  of 
the  policy  of  nations  ;  fuch  are  the  events  of  which 
it  is  compofed.  It  will  be  happy  for  France  if 
(he  produce  many  fuch  deiigning  and  felfifh  men. 
If  thofe  who  were  called  by  their  birth,  their 
wealth,  and  their  dignities  to  maintain  the  honour, 
and  produce  the  happinefs  of  their  country,  had 
qualified  themfelves  with  equal  care,  France  would 
either  have  needed  no  revolution,  or  the  revolu- 
tion would  have  been  more  happy  and  honourable. 

For  my  part,  the  revolution  was  not  neceflary  to 
raife  me  to  dignities.  I  mould  foon  have  been 
lieutenant-general  in  the  ordinary  courfe  of  pro- 
niotion,  and  was  ori  the  point  of  receiving  honours 
that  men  at  that  period  fought  after.  I  polYeiTed 
an  income  of  2o,coo  livrcs,  which  was  equal  to 
my  wants  and  defires.  Yet  I  could  not  but  fee 
that  France  was  difgraced  abroad,  and  ruined 
within.  I  forefaw  that  (he  haftened  to  this  latter 
period  of  her  mifery  ;  and  have  often  warned  thofe 
of  the  mimfters,  whom  I  efteemed  to  be  honeit 
men,  of  the  event. 

When  the  revolution  commenced,  I  deprived 
its  character  of  much  of  its  evil  in  the  place  where 
I  commanded.  At  Cherbourg,  the  exceiTes  of  the 
populace  were  puniihed  by  me  with  death ;  but 
the  people  could  not  accufe  rne  of  being  inimical 
to'  their  liberty.  Thofe  who  were  placed  in 
like  ikuations  would  have  rendered  an  ineftimable 
fcrvice  to  their  country,  in  exerting  the  lame  firrn- 
nefs  with  the  fame  difcernmenu 

The  military  governments  of  towns  in  France 
being  fupprerTed,  I  went  to  Paris,  where,  during 
two  years,  I  fludied  the  influence  and  character  of 
the  revQlution.  The  flight  of  the  princes  of  France 

was 


[     xxxi     ] 

was  an  irreparable  injury  done  to  the  caule  of  the 
king.  I  fore  Taw  that  the  exercife  of  the  Veto  would 
not  produce  the  end  that  was  propofed  by  it,  and 
would  occafion  the  ruin  of  the  monarch's  caufe, 
and  I  oppoled  it  by  all  the  means  that  were  in  my 
power. 

In  1791,  I  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the 
country  from  Nantes  to  Bourdeaux.  At  that  period 
a  religious  war  raged  in  La  Vendee,  and  the  peo~ 
pie  laid  wafte  the  cailies  and  lands  of  the  nobilky, 
I  had  the  good  fortune  to  calm  the  minds  of  the 
people,  and  to  preferve  tranquillity  in  that  coun- 
try till  the  month  of  February,  1792,  when  I  was 
recalled  to  Paris,  was  raifed  to  the  rank  of  lieute- 
nant-general, and  appointed  rninifter  of  foreign 
atiairs. 

I  am  reproached  with  having  caufed  the  war  by 
my  counfels ;  but  I  (hall  prove  that  the  war  was 
already  inevitable,  when  I  began  my  adminiftra- 
tion,  and  that  indeed  it  might  be  faid  to  have  com- 
menced. I  acknowledge,  however,  that  my  opinion 
was  decidedly  for  the  declaration  of  war,  as  was 
alfo  that  of  the  king,  who,  not  only  approved  of  my 
memorial  to  the  National  AiTembly  on  that  fubjecl, 
(which  was  three  days  in  his  hands)  but  made 
corrections  in  it,  and  himfelf  compoied  the  dif- 
courfe  he  delivered  to  the  ailembly  on  that 
occaiion. 

At  the  end  of  three  months,  finding  myfelf  em- 
barrarled  by  the  various  factions,  and  being 
fincerely  deiirous  to  fee  the  king's  council  poffei- 
iing  proper  dignity,  and  his  meaiures  governed  by 
conftitutional  principles,  I  changed  the  miniftiy, 
and  obtained  a  promiie  that  the  king  would  fanction 
two  decrees  which  appeared  expedient  to  his  fer- 
vice.  Having  done  Ib,  I  would  have  retired  from 
the  adminiftration.  The  king  would  not  grant 
me  his  permiflion  ;  the  miniilry  was  again  changed 
by  his  order,  and  I  took  the  war  department.  But, 

icon 


(     xxxii     ) 

foon  perceiving  that  the  court  had  deceived  me,  I 
refolved  noc  to  be  the  inftrument  of  their  intrigues. 
I  predicted  to  the  unhappy  king  and  queen  all 
the  misfortunes  in  which  they  were  involving 
themfelves,  and  I  gave  in  my  refignation  three 
days  after  being  appointed  miniiler  of  war. 

I  was  not  driven  from  the  councils  of  the  king 
as  the  emigrants  have  afierted,.  but  refigned  in 
oppofition  to  the  entreaties  of  Louis.  He  was  two 
days  before  he  would  accept  of  my  refignation, 
and  he  did  not  fuffer  me  to  depart  without  ex- 
prerling  the  deepeft  regret. 

After  that  period,  I  commanded  the  armies  with 
the  greatefl  fuccefs.  If  the  French  had  difplayed 
as  much  moderation  and  virtue  as  they  have  en- 
joyed of  fuccefs,  peace  had  been  long  iince  reftored 
to  Europe  ;  Louis  would  have  been  on  his  throne  ; 
and  the  nation  would  not  have  been,  as  now, 
ilained  with  crimes,  and  the  ilave  of  anarchy. 
France  would  have  been  happy  and  illuftrious 
under  her  conftitution  and  her  king. 

I  have  now,  my  worthy  friend,  given  you  a 
fliort  hiltory  of  my  life,  and  it  will  Hand  in  the 
place  of  one  more  circumftantial,  if  opportunity 
be  not  given  me  to  prepare  a  fuller  account  for 
the  public.  My  heart  is  unburthened  in  fending 
you  this  letter.  Here,  I  wait  the  orders  of  the 
emperor,  and  the  deciiion  of  my  fate,  without 
inquietude.  My  mind,  far  from  being  weakened 
is  fortified  by  difaflers ;  and  I  fliall  be  always 
myfelf. 


MEMOIRS 


O    F 


GENERAL    DUMOURIER 


FOR    THE    YEAR 


BOOK    L 


CHAP. 


Of  the  General  State  of  Affairs  In  France \ 

1 N  the  early  periods  of  the  Revolution  we  have 
feen  the  French  combating  for  their  indepen- 
dence with  courage*  But  there  was  too  much  vio- 
lence in  their  mode  of  acquiring  liberty  to  afford 
any  hope  that  they  would  enjoy  either  that  or  their 
fubfequent  fucceffes  with  moderation.  Having 
been  hitherto  victorious,  they  had  no  doubt  that 
they  were  now  invincible*  They  no  longer  thought 
of  maintaining  the  good-will  of  a  people  who  had 
received  them  with  open  arms.  They  beheld  no- 
thing but  conquefts  before  them ;  and,  while  they 
tyrannized  over  the  minds  of  their  newly  adopted 
brethren  by  turbulent  clubs  they  robbed  them  of 

F  their 


(     34     ) 

their  property;  and  left  them  without  any  fpecieS 
of  liberty  either  moral  or  phyfica-L- 

Every  pelfon  'of*  cha&Vcier  and^polhical  expe- 
rience had  retired  from  the  management  of  affairs, 
to  efcape  the  perfections  of  an  Ochlocracy  that  go- 
verned under  the  fanclion  of  the  dreadful  fociety 
of  Jacobins.     The   King  was   in   prifon.       1  he 
worthy  .of  every  defcription  were   perfecuted  un- 
der the  names  of  Feuillans,    Moderes,    and   In- 
triguers.    The  conftitution  was  deftroyed.     Paris 
was  in  the  hands  of  the  federates,  invited  there 
by  the  Girondine  party,  but   who,  on   their  ar- 
rival at  Paris,  had  been   gained  by  the  Jacobins. 
Thefe  federates  now  threatened  to   bring  to  the 
fcaffold  Pethion,  Briffot,  and  all  the  leaders  of  the 
Girondine  party.     But  their  threats  were  loudeft 
againft  General  Dumourier,  whom  Marat,  Rober- 
fpierre,  and  the  other  heads  of  the  Jacobins  pointed 
out  as  the  inurument  and  protector  of  that  party, 
then  diftinguiihed  by  the  name  of  the  politicians*. 
This  was  a  prejudice  againft  the  general  altogether 
unfounded;  for  he  was  unconnected  with  either 
party,  having  no  more  efteem  for  one  than  the 
other,  but  regarding  them  as  equally  adverfe  to  the 
tranquillity  of  France,  which  he  faw  no  means  of 
effobliihing  but   by  a  revolution  capable   of  de- 
ftroying  the   influence  of  both.     To  this  end  his 
army  was   his   only   engine;  and  it  will  foon  be 
feen  how  little  there  was  to  be  relied  on. 

France  at  the  period  of  which  we  are  now  fpeak- 
ing,  ailumed  an  appearance  of  profperky  that  de- 
ceived and  elated  the  people;  and  more  especially, 
the  predominant  party.  But  (he  had  rendered 
herfelf  odious  to  foreign  nations;  and  was,  in 

truth, 

*,  The  word  in  the  original  is  Tolitiqvcs.  At  Paris,  the  Circa- 
difts  were  called  Les  Politiques,  or  Les  Hommes  d'Etat.  But  thefe 
epithets  were  ufed  in  difdain,  becaufe  the  politics  of  Statefmen 
were  deemed  to  be  unworthy  of  the  firaplicity  of  freemen. 


35     ) 

truth,  divided  and  weakened  within  herfelf.  On 
the  fide  of  Italy,  the  French  army  was  extended 
among  the  Alps  by  the  acqiuiition  of  Savoy ;  and 
was  further  aggrandized  by  the  addition  of  the 
county  of  Nice.  Theie  territories  had  incorpo- 
rated themfelves  with  the  Republic,  but  violence 
alone  was  the  author  of  the  union. 

Clubs  compofed  by  a  few  corrupt  men,  who 
could  exiil  only  by  a  change  in  the  government,., 
were  eilablifhed  in  every  city  by  the  Jacobin  fol- 
diers  that  were  fcattered  throughout  the  different 
armies.  Their  violent  reiblutions  at  once  acquired 
the  validity  of  law.  Queftions  were  not  even  put 
to  the  vote.  Every  thing  was  carried  by  menaces 
and  force.  And  patriotic  addreffes  arrived  at  Paris 
from  the  foot  of  the  Alps,  from  the  mountains  of 
the  principality  of  Bafle,  from  Mayence,  Liege,  and 
the  cities  of  Belgium.  The  National  Convention 
believed,  or  affected  to  believe,  that  the  bleiTmgs 
of  our  condition  were  afcertained  by  foreigners 
ranging  themfelves  under  our  colours, 

Geneva  became  a  club  inilead  of  a  republic. 
Claviere  gave  a  icofe  to  old  refentments  that  he 
harboured  againfthis  country;  and  being  appoint- 
ed minifler  of  finance  by  the  Girondine  party,  he 
facrificed  General  Monte  fquieu,  who,  in  dilcharge 
of  his  duty  as  general  of  the  army  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Geneva,  had  attempted  to  fave  that 
city  and  Switzerland  from  the  baneful  influence 
of  the  Jacobins. 

The  principality  of  Porentruy,  deceived  by  Go- 
bet  biihop  of  Paris,  and  by  his  nephew  Ringler, 
two  defpicable  adventurers,  had  alfo  incorporated 
itfelf  with  France,  and  had  adopted  its  dangerous 
reveries, 

Cuflinc  was  mailer    of  Worms,    Spire,     and 

Mayence;  but  he  had  neglected  to  enter  Coblentz, 

and  had  evacuated  Franckfort,  after  having  excited 

the  deteftation  of  the  inhabitants  againft  the  ava- 

F  2  rice 


(     36     ) 

rice  and  turbulence  of  a  people  in  whofe  braids 
the  torch  of  philofophy  had  lighted  up  the  flames 
of  difcord. 

Between  Outline's  army   and  that  commanded 
by  Dumourier  in  the   Netherlands,   ap  other   had 
been  placed  under  the  orders  of  General  Bournon- 
ville.     But  this  army  had  been  nearly  annihilated 
in  a  difgraceful  expedition  undertaken  by  its  gene- 
ral agatnft  Treves,   after  he  had  loft   the  opportu- 
nity of  attacking  that  city  with  advantage.      One 
third  of  his  army  being  thus  deftroyed,   the  re- 
mainder retired  for  the  purpofes  of  recruiting  in- 
to cantonments   in  Lorraine.     The  Prufnans  and 
Auftrians  took  poflefiion  of  the  intervals  left  open 
by  this  retreat ;  and  their  pofition,  connected  with 
Coblentz,  Treves,  and  Luxembourg,  entirely  cut 
oft  the  communication  between  Cuftine  and  Du- 
mourier ;   fo  that  there  was  no  longer  any  concert 
in  the  efforts  of  the  two  armies.     And  indeed  Du- 
mourier's  plans  had  already  been  deranged  by  the 
flupid  pride  of  Cuftine,  by  the  ignorance  of  the 
convention,  and  by  the  treachery  of  Pache,  Meu- 
nier,  and  HaiTenfratz,  who  having  the  direction  of 
the  war  department  and  refolving  to  ruin  Dumou- 
rier, had  diforganized  the  armies   and  with-held 
their  means  of  fubfiftence.   The  Netherlands  were 
in  the  hands  of  the  French  army  called  the  army  of 
Belgium,  compofed  of  that  of  Dumourier  and  the 
army  of  the  Ardennes  commanded  by  General  Va- 
lence.     The   latter  was   not    more    than    15,000 
ftrong*    The  two  armies  occupied  Aix-la-Chapelle 
and  the  banks  of   the  Meule.     Clubs  agitated  all 
the  cities  of  Belgium.     The  convention  had  fent 
commiilioners  to  execute  the  odious  decree  of  the 
35th   of  December,   that    fequeilered  the   public 
property  of  Belgium;   and  fo   had   frufrrated  the 
hopes    of  uniting  thofe    rich     provinces    to  the 
French  republic  although  that  union  was  die  very 
objecl   of  this  opprellive    decree.     But  the  con- 
vention 


(     37     ) 

vent  ion  were  eager  to  feize  on  the  wealth  of  Bel- 
gium previous  to  any  union.  Such  was  the  plan 
of  the  financier  Cambori ;  and  he  beaded  of  the 
project. 

The  immoral  and  ferocious  difpofitions  of  the 
fix  commiflioners  employed  in  this  affair  were  well 
calculated  to  ruin  thefcheme.  Danton  was  a  man 
of  great  energy  of  character  ;  but  was  without  edu- 
cation and  equally  detefiabie  in  mind  as  he  was 
coarfe  and  difguilful  in  appearance.  La  Croix 
was  an  adventurer,  a  debauchee,  and  a  braggart ; 
and  was  deftitute  of  all  fenfe  and  honour.  Camus, 
the  moft  rugged,  haughty,  aukward,  and  pedantic 
of  the  Janfenifls.  Trielliard,  little  differing  from 
Camus.  Merlin  of  Douay,  a  well-meaning  man  ; 
but  fplenetic,  and  infected  with  extravagant  and 
theoretic  notions.  And  Gofluin,  a  monfter  of  a 
brutal  and  fordid  fpirit*. 

To  thefe  commiflioners  were  joined  thirty-two 
others  named  by  the  executive  council,  but  re- 
commended by  the  club  of  Jacobins  at  Paris.  The 
greater  part  of  thefe  affiftants  were  mifcreants  who 
came  only  to  mauacre  and  pillage  throughout  the 
rich  provinces  of  Belgium.  They  over-ran  the 
unfortunate  country ;  and  while,  by  the  terror  of 

labres 

*  Fhefe  portraits  feern  to  be  drawn  with  too  much  (eycrlty.  If 
much  may  be  faid  againft  thefe  deputies,  it  is  alfowell  known 
that  they  have  rendered  many  fervices  to  their  country.  We 
mould  have  been  unwilling  to  have  pubiifucd  thefe  and  ether 
perfonalities  that  are  to  be  fbun'd  in  General  Dumoarier's  Me- 
moirs, if  we  had  had  any  right  to  fupprcfs  them,  and  if  we 
are  not  morever  perfuaded  tl;at  the  important  fact?,  extonllve 
views,  and  ufefui  objects  of  the  work  would  amply  compenfate 
for  fome  intemperate  pafTages.  Befides  when  we  recoll'ecl:  the 
ingratitude  and  grofs  calumnies  that  have  purfued  General  Du- 
moarier  (w!;o  probably  has  difcovered  more  talent  and  conducT: 
than  any  other  perfon  in  the  revolution,  and  who  certainly  as  a 
general  has  gained  the  moft  important  victories  and  acquired  the 
greateft  glory)  we  cannot  wonder  that  in  writing  of  his  bitterest 
enemies,  he  has  indulged  himfelf  in  writing  faiire  inftcad  oi 
hiilory.  Note  bj  ihc  Britifn  Edihr. 


(     38     ) 

fabres  and  fufees,  they  drove  the  inhabitants  to  de- 
mand their  being  incorporated  with  the  French 
republic,  thefe  men  plundered  the  churches  and 
palaces,  emptied  the  coffers  and  fold  the  furniture 
of  all  who  fell  utider  their  difpleafure,  and  whom 
they  marked  with  the  odious  name  of  Ariftocrats  ; 
and  whom  often  coniifting  of  fathers  of  families 
and  old  men,  and  women  and  children,  they  fent 
as  hoilages  into  the  fortified  towns  of  France. 

The  north  and  weft  of  France  began  to  unfold 
the  feeds  of  difcontent  againit  this  bloody  and 
horrible  anarchy.  The  revolters  of  La  Vendee 
were  not  however  dangerous  as  yet;  and  there 
had  been  no  difficulty  in  cruftiing  them  utterly,  if 
any  forefight  had  exiiled  in  the  National  Conven- 
tion, or  in  the  Councils  of  the  executive  power. 
But  what  is  to  be  expected  from  a  government  in 
which  while  the  wife  heiitated,  mad  men  Hep  in 
and  decide. 

Two  factions  equally  attrocious,  the  Mountain, 
and  the  Girondine  party,  divided  the  Convention. 

The  former,  made  up  of  the  moll  furious  Jaco- 
bin?, neither  palliated  their  wicked  principles  nor 
their  crimes.  They  fpoke  of  nothing  but  blood 
:md  death.  And,  being  without  capacity  to  govern, 
having  neither  knowledge  nor  digefted  plan,  they 
would  fufier  no  dominion  whatever.  Not  even  the 
principal  men  of  the  faction  could  boa  It  of  ruling 
it ;  and  the  liberty  of  the  faction  confuted  in  an- 
archy. 

The  other  faction,  compofed  of  metaphyficians 
and  intriguing  ftatefmen,  had  long  abuied  the 
iuperiority  acquired  by  their  tulents,  and  their 
more  cultivated  education,  They  had  treated  the 
jacobins  with  difdain.  The  executive  council  was 
their  inftrument.  And  they  imagined  they  fe- 
rurely  held  the  reins  of  government.  But  the 
Convention  had  been  difguited  by  their  infolence 
<md  prick  ;  and  it  was  knowp,  that  this  faction 

were 


(     39     ) 

were  the  enemies  of  royalty  only  becaufe  they  af-  . 
pired  to  fill  its  place.  Hence  the  independent  part 
of  the  .aflembly,  thofe  men  who  execrated  the  atro- 
cities of  the  Jacobins,  flood  yet  more  in  fear  of  the 
ambition  of  Condorcet,  Briffot,  Pethion,  Genfonne, 
Guadet,  Vergniaux,  &c.  And  thus  all  other 
parties  became  united  to  humble  the  prefumptu- 
ous  Girondiils. 

The  ineafure  of  bringing  the  unhappy  king  to 
trial,  refulted  from  the  hatred  of  the  two  factions,- 
It  ferved  them  mutually  for  food  ;  but  the  Giron- 
diils have  too  late  difcovered  how  fatal  it  has  been 
to  them.  Louis,  the  victim  of  their  ambition  and 
of  their  cowardice  dragged  them  down  in  his  fall, 
and  left  the  field  open  to  the  triumph  of  the  Ja- 
cobins. 

The  factions  that  fplit  the  affembly,  divided  the 
departments  alfo  ;  each  efpouiing  the  paffions  of 
their  deputies.  Bourdeaux,  Marfeilles,  and  Lyons, 
hated  the  Mountain  ;  and  were  the  firft  to  begin  an 
oppofition,  that  has  fince  degenerated  into  a  civil 
war. 

The  Pyrennees  and  the  inclemency  of  the  fea- 
fon,  ilill  fecured  the  frontier  provinces  of  Spain  ; 
and  that  kingdom,  at  its  leifure,  collected  the 
forces  that  were  afterwards  directed  again  Roufiil- 
lon  ;  while  the  Convention,  occupied  entirely  by 
their  own  quarrels,  and  by  the  ilate  of  Paris,  pro- 
vided none  of  the  means  of  repelling  the  attack. 

Paris,  the  moil:  miferable  and  moil  guilty  city 
that  has  exiiled,  thought  herfelf  the  rival  of  Rome, 
becaufe  in  the  fpace  of  a  few  months,  {he  had  be- 
come the  fcene  of  crimes,  marTacres,  and  cata- 
flrophes,  that  were  the  accumulation  of  ages  in 
the  capital  of  the  Roman  empire.  Forty  theatres, 
always  crowded,  amufed  her  trifling,  cowardly, 
and  cruel  inhabitants ;  while  a  fmall  band  of  vil- 
lains, no  lefs  ridiculous  in  their  pretenfions,  than 
barbarous  in  their  deeds,  fupported  by  two  or 

three 


three   thoufand   dependants,  the  outcafts   of  the 
provinces,  and  many   of  whom,    indeed,    were 
not  Frenchmen,   deftroyed  the    memory   of  the 
maffacres  and  horrors  of  each  evening^  by  thofe  of 
the  fucceeding  morning.    The  frightful  cavern  of 
the  Jacobins  vomited  forth  every  ill,   and  fpread 
terror  through  every  houfe.     All  men  of  property 
trembled,   and  citizens,    who,    in  peaceful    times 
would  have  been  mild  and  virtuous,  hardened  their 
hearts  againft   pity,    and  were   ready  to  applaud 
guilt,   left  '  they  {hould  become  its  victims.      All 
who  had  the  remains  of  virtue   or  ihame    were 
fled  or  were  driven  from  the  adminiftration  of  the 
department,  of  the  municipality,   and  of  the  fec- 
tions.     An  infallible  fign  always  precedes  the  fall 
of  nations.     Then  good  men  hide  themfelves  ; 
and  the  wicked  and  violent  alone  remain  in  the 
conducl   of  affairs.      And  in  this  crifis,  it  is  not 
even  in  the  power  of  fupernatural  aid  to  fave  the 
people  from  the  effeds  of  public  phrenzy. 

Such  was  the  terrible  fituation  of  France  in  the 
beginning  of  the  year  1793.  Such  is  the  gulph 
to  which  democracy  leads,  when  the  populace 
takes  the  place  of  the  nation,  and  tyrannizes  over 
it  by  the  Oligarchy  of  a  few  depraved  wretches 
feleded  from  "the  refufe  of  the  people.  At  Rome 
a  fenate,  during  many  ages,  controuled  popular 
vehemence  ;  and  directed  it,  not  towards  happi- 
nefs,  but  to  the  aggrandifement  of.  the  nation  ; 
for  Rome  turned  her  arms  abroad,  that  {he  might 
not  deftroy  her  own  offspring.  France  has  no 
fuch  counterpoife  as  that  of  the  Senate  of  Rome  ; 
and  thewant  of  virtue  in  the  governing  party  can 
bring  nothing  but  difgrace  and  misfortune  on  her 
head. 


C  H  A  P. 


CHAP.     II. 

Of  the  State  of  the  Armies. 

ALTHOUGH  the  political  condition  of 
France  had  even  pofTeffed  more  folidity,  and  had 
been  regulated  by  a  prudent  aflembly,  although 
France  had  gained  the  hearts  of  the  nations  to 
which  her  arms  had  opened  her  the  way  inftead 
of  having  difgufted  them  by  a  tyranny  more  of- 
fenfive  than  that  of  a  formal  defpotifm,  it  had 
been  impofiible  that  this  new  Republic  fhould 
fupport  herfelf  againft  the  interefts  of  the  whole  of 
Europe,  unlefs  (he  had  eftablimed  a  military  fyftem 
capable  of  making  head  againft  a  univerfal  attack 
upon  her  territory  by  fea  and  land.  The  National 
Convention,  never  miftrufting  themfelves  on  any 
fubjecl,  becaufe  they  were  ignorant  of  the  political 
combinations  of  things,  iffued  a  decree  on  the  l  gth 
of  November,  179*2,  againft  every  defpot  in  the 
univerfe,  and  invited  the  people  every  where,  to 
throw  off  their  yoke  ;  promiiing  them  protection 
and  fraternity  on  condition  of  their  adopting  the 
French  Syftem.  But  they  ought  to  have  humbled 
the  Empire,  PrufTia,  Spain,  andRufTia,  before  they 
made  fo  proud  a  declaration.  A  juft  afTembly,  an 
ailembly  regarding  the  rights  of  man  united  in 
fociety,  (for  man  in  a  favage  (late  has  no  rights, 
and  a  ftate  of  nature  confounds  all  rights)  would 
have  perceived  fuch  a  decree  to  have  been  unjufL 
The  maxim  of  compelling  men  to  come  in  is  not  more 
philofophical  in  a  focial  view,  than  it  is  in  theo- 
logy. The  Jacobin  preacher  is  not  lefs  unjuft, 
than  the  preacher  of  the  church  of  Rome ;  and  it 
is  unbecoming  of  liberty  to  be  propagated,  like 
the  alcoran,  by  the  fword. 

G  But 


(      45      ) 

Bat  in  taking  the  violent  ftep  of  the  igth  of 
November,  it  will  at  leaft  be  iuppofed,  that  the 
Convention,  deiiring  to  range  all  men  on  the  lide 
of  liberty,  had  taken  due  precautions  that  the 
decree  fhould  be  fomething  more  than  a  vain  and 
dangerous  boaft,  and  consequently  that  they  had 
placed  their  military  eftabiifhment  on  the  itrongeit 
footing.  General  Dumourier,  on  becoming  mini- 
iler  of  the  war  department  (which  iituation  he 
held  but  three  days,  being  appointed  on  the  1 3th 
and  quitting  it  on  the  i6:h  of  June,  179*2)  read  a 
bold  memorial  to  the  National  Affembly,  proving 
clearly,  that  they  thought  not  of  the  army,  and 
that  far  from  placing  it  in  a  ftate  to  fupport  the 
war,  they  were  trilling  with  the  public  liberty  and 
fafety.  This  memorial  was  forgotten.  The  cam- 
paign was  begun.  The  General's  fuccefs  which 
ought  to  have  gained  him  the  confidence  of  his 
fellow-citizens,  if  no  further  yet  as  far  as  refpecfted 
the  military  department,  ferved  merely  to  throw 
fufpicion  on  every  advice  he  gave  them.  They 
not  only  altered  his  plan  of  the  campaign,  but 
they  were  deiirous  of  retarding  his  too  rapid  pro- 
grefs.  The  Girondine  party  frankly  told  him, 
they  fhould  be  extremely  lorry  to  fee  him  force  the 
enemy  too  promptly  to  demand  peace,  fince  they 
feared  the  confequence  of  the  return  of  the  army 
before  they  fhould  have  fmifhed  the  ccnilitution. 

The  Jacobins,  who  fuppofed  the  General  to  be 
connected  with  the  Girondine  party,  accufed  him 
of  ambition.  Their  contemptible  journals,  efpe- 
cially  that  of  Marat,  affected  to  make  him  at  one 
time  diclator,  at  another  Duke  of  Brabant,  and  at 
another  head  of  the  Orleans  faction,  and  under 
this  latf  fiction,  defcribed  him  as  intending  to  place 
the  eldeft  fon  of  the  infamous  and  odious  Philip,  on 
the  throne.  Nothing  could  be  more  contradictory 
thanthefe  calumnies  ;  for  if  Dumourier  delired  to 
be  dictator,  he  furely  was-not  the  agent  of  the  houfe 

of 


(     43     ) 

of  Orleans  ;  if  his  aim  was  to  be  Duke  of  Brabant, 
he  had  then  an  interefr,  foreign  to  the  party  in- 
trigues of  his  country.  But  the  abfurdeit  accuia- 
tions  were  fufficient  in  France  to  tarnifti  inno- 
cence. It  has  however  feen  that  calumny  was  too 
feeble  to  flop  the  progrefs  of  a  victorious  general ; 
and  machinations  of  a  more  effective  nature  were 
employed,  and  which  ended  in  the  destruction  of 
the  miliary  refources. 

Servan,  having  discovered  the  difficulties  of  the 
war  department,  feigned  iicknefs  ;  and  while  he 
declared  the  infufficiency  of  his  Strength  for  the 
fatigues  of  his  Situation,  he  appointed  himSelf  ge- 
neral of  the  army  of  the  Pyrennees.  Servan  was. 
lieutenant  colonel  in  the  preceding  month  of  May- 
His  health  unequal  to  the  duties  of  the  cabinet, 
was  robuft  enough  to  Support  the  fatigues  of  the 
field.  Yet  the  Revolution,  it  Seems,  was  under- 
taken to  reform  the  improper  diitribution  and 
abuSe  of  employments ! 

Roland,  minifter  of  the  interior  department, 
was  the  moil:  intriguing  and  leaft  capable  of  the 
Girondine  party.  He  had  a  friend,  named  Pache  ; 
a  man  of  talents  and  great  zeal,  who  had  formerly 
been  Secretary  to  the  MareSchal  de  Caftries  and 
had  educated  his  Son.  Roland  imagined  he  could 
make  himSelf  matter  of  the  war  department,  in 
procuring  it  for  Pache.  We  (hall  afterwards  See 
how  far  the  reSult  was  favourable  to  the  deiigns  of 
Roland. 

Pache  now  became  miniiler  of  war,  chofe  the 
following  men,  or  was  obliged  to  appoint  them,  to 
Sill  the  principal  departments  of  his  office;  MeuSr 
nier,  an  academician  and  a  man  of  Senie,  but  of  as 
depraved  a  mind  as  could  be  found  in  France  ; 
another  academician,  named  Vandermoncle  ;  a  Ja- 
cobin who  had  rendered  himSelf  ridiculous  by  the 
aflecled  vulgarity  of  his  manners,  and  dangerous 
by  his  intrigues,  and  who  had  a  [Turned  the  name  of 
G  2  Haffenfratg 


(     44     ) 

HaiTenfratz  to  conceal  the  name  of  le  Lievre,  tin- 
der which  he  would  have  been  recognized  to  his 
difgrace  ;  and  Audouin  who  was  Vicar  of  St.  Eu- 
flache  and  ion^in-law  of  Pache. 

Thefe  new  minifters  threw  every  thing  into 
confufion  in  the  different  departments  of  the  war 
office,  during  the  moft  important  and  hazardous 
campaign.  The  few  perfons  of  experience  that 
remained  were  discharged  and  their  iituations  rilled, 
not  merely  by  Jacobins,  but  by  fuch  of  them  as 
had  diftmguifhed  themfelves  in  the  mafiacres  of 
the  firft  fix  days  of  September.  The  adminiilra- 
tions  eftablilhed  for  the  fupply  of  arms,  clcathing, 
provifions,  and  for  regulating  the  hofpitals,  were 
aboliihed.  The  old  and  experienced  commifFaries 
and  contractors  were  either  difmifled,  or  calumni- 
ated, or  dragged  to  the  bar  of  juftice  ;  or  thrown 
into  prifon,  and  rendered  infamous  without  being 
heard.  As  there  imprudent  and  unjufl  meafures 
equally  afifecled  all  the  aimies,  although  particu- 
larly aimed  at  that  of  Dumourier,  the  complaints 
of  the  generals  were  univerfal.  Commiflioners 
irom  the  Convention  were  fent  to  examine  into 
the  truth  of  the  complaints,  Their  reports  were 
alarming.  But  the  committee  of  military  affairs, 
who  in  no  cafe  could  have  any  other  effect  than  to 
cmbarrafs  the  meafures  of  the  war  department 
however  wifely  concerted,  was  now  made  the  in- 
ftrument  of  juftifying  the  falfe  flatements  of  Pache 
in  direct  oppofition  to  thofe  of  the  generals  and 
commiflioners.  The  Convention  parTed  to  the 
order  of  the  day  ;  and  Pache  efcaped  with  having 
been  fimpiy  ordered  to  the  bar,  and  with  the 
reproaches  which  the  generals  continued  to  lay 
upon  him. 

The  commifTioners  Camus,  Goffoin,  Danton, 
and  la  Croix,  were  themfelves  witnerTes  in  the 
month  of  December,  of  the  difireffed  condition  of 
the  army  jn  the  camp  of  Liege  ;  and  rendered  an 

account 


(     45     ) 

account  of  it  in  their  reports  to  the  Convention, 
but  without  applying  any  effective  remedy  to  the 
evil.  The  army  was  compofed  of  forty-eight  bat- 
talions ;  the  completed  of  which  were  from  three 
hundred  and  fifty,  to  four  hundred  men,  and 
many  of  them  were  not  more  than  two  hundred  : 
the  whole  amounting  t,o  between  fourteen  and  fif- 
teen thoufand  foot.  The  cavalry  were  about  three 
thoufand  two  hundred.  Moil  of  the  foldiers  were 
without  (hoes,  and  encamped  in  the  mud,  their 
feet  being  protected  by  nothing  but  hay  twilled 
together.  The  reft  of  their  cloathing  correfponded 
with  this  deplorable  appearance.  Clothes  had 
been  diftributed  to  fonie,  but  thofe,  to  the  num- 
ber of  fifteen  hundred,  deferted  and  returned  to 
their  refpeclive  homes.  The  rick  filled  the  hof- 
pitals,  where  they  were  in  want  of  every  thing. 
To  fucha  flate  was  the  victorious  army  of  Jemappe 
reduced  after  the  conqueft  of  Belgia. 

This  army  had  been  obliged  to  flop  fliort  on 
the  banks  of  the  Meufe  for  want  of  provifions  ; 
and,  if  its  difrrefs  had  been  known  to  general  C'iair-* 
fait,  he  might  have  engaged  it  with  great  advan- 
tage, for  the  carriages  of  the  artillery  were  aimoft 
entirely  defiroyed,  and  in  the  preceding  month  of 
December  fix  thoufand  artillery  horfes  had  died  at 
Tongres  and  at  Liege  for  want  of  forage.  The 
foot  had  but  ten  thoufand  fufecs  in  a  condition  for 
fervice.  The  cavalry  were  in  want  of  boots,  fad- 
dies,  cloaks,  carbines,  piftols  and  fabres.  The 
army  was  without  money  ;  and  often  the  fiaff  offi- 
cers raifed  contributions  among  themielves  to 
make  out  the  foldiers  fubfiftence-money  for  the 

day. 

General  Dumcurier  could  have  fupplied  all 
thefe  wants  in  Brabant,  Liege,  and  Holland  ;  and 
had  even  entered  into  the  neceiiaiy  contracts  and 
made  reports  refpeding  them  ;  but  every  plan  was 
rejected  and  all  his  arrangements  deftrgyedi  The 

commif- 


commiflary  Ron  fin,  had  orders  to  condemn, 
embarrafs  and  retard  every  meafure.  His  hofti- 
lity  was  open  ;  he  paid  no  regard  to  the  opinion 
of  the  general :  for  he  was  certain  of  the  iupport 
of  the  military  committee,  of  the  financier  Cam- 
bon,  of  Pache  and  his  dependants,  together  with 
the  iecret  protection  of  the  commifiioners  of  the 
Convention,  who  appeared  to  blame  thefe  difor- 
ders,  but  fuffered  them  to  remain  without  a  check, 
and  in  the  account  they  rendered  in  the  month  of 
January  excufed  Ronlin  although  ..they  acknow- 
ledged him  to  be  unfit  for  his  fituation. 

Manufactures  were  ellablHhed  at  Paris  for  every 
tiling  wanted  in  the  armies.  Cloth  was  convey- 
ed from  Liege  to  Paris  to  make  clothing  for  the 
troops.  Leather  was  bought  at  Liege,  at  Dinans, 
and  all  along  the  banks  of  the  Meufe,  to  make 
faces  at  Paris,  which  were  fent  to  the  army  at  nine 
livres  each  pair,  altho'  at  Liege  flioescofl.  no  more 
than  four  livres,  or  four  livres  ten  fous  per  pair. 
Cloaks  that  could  be  manufactured  at  Antwerp  for 
nineteen  or  twenty-one  livres  each,  coll  fifty  livres 
each  at  Paris ;  and  cloaks  were  fent  from  Paris  to 
the  army.  The  corn  of  the  Netherlands  was  fent 
to  Nantz,  from  Nantz  to  Paris,  was  ground  in  the 
mills  of  Mont  Martre,  near  Paris,  and  fent  back  to 
the  Netherlands. 

The  greateii  evil  that  refulted  from  thefe  dif- 
orders,  was  their  influence  on  the  conduct  of  the 
foidiery.  We  have  already  taken  a  review  of  the 
character  of  thefe  troops,  and  have  feen  how  diffi- 
cult it  was  for  General  Dumourier  to  avail  himfelf 
of  their  courage.  It  may  even  be  laid,  thai,  he 
had  accompliihed  what  feemed  to  be  impofiible ; 
and  that  in  beating  the  Pruflians  and  Auiirians,"  he 
had  obtained  a  victory  more  tedious  and  difficult 
over  his  licentious  foldiers,  having  introduced  dil- 
cipline  and  love  of  order  into  an  army,  one  fourth 

part 


(     47     ) 

part  of  which  was  compofed  of  troops  of  the  line, 
infected  by  the  fpirit  of  the  times,  and  the  other 
three  parts  of  volunteers,  each  having  an  opinion 
of  his  own,  and  each  proud  of  his  victories,  and 
rendered  fufceptible  of  more  mifchief  than  good, 
by  his  notions  of  equality. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  campaign  of  1792,  the 
battalions  were  in  want  of  officers.  The  iuperior 
officers  were  ill  chofen,  and  were  without  influence. 
The  foldiers  themfelves  chofe  their  captains, 
lieutenants,  and  fubaltern  officers,  and  hence  thefe 
officers  were  fubjecl  to  the  caprice  of  men, .  who 
acknowledged  no  fuperior.  A  {ingle  Jacobin  was 
Tufficient  to  ruin  a  battalion  by  his  licentious  dif- 
courfes ;  and  it  was  only  by  culpable  condefcen- 
tions  that  an  officer  could  preferve  his  rank,  or 
obtain  promotion. 

The  city  of  Liege  was  the  tomb  of  Frenchmen. 
They  died  there  of  hunger  and  every  fpecies  of 
diftrefs.  And  this  city,  where  the  army  knew 
nothing  but  wants,  was  more  fatal  to  it  than  Ca- 
pua, with  its  enjoyments,  had  been  to  the  Cartha- 
ginians. 

The  people  of  Liege  had  carried  the  Revolu- 
tionary fpirit  to  an  excefs,  proportioned  to  the 
excefs  of  their  fufferings  when  they  were  betrayed 
and  fubdued  by  the  PruiTians.  They  had  there- 
fore withdrawn  their  confidence  from  the  leaders 
of  the  Revolution,  who  laboured  to  fecure  liberty 
on  the  foundations  of  wife  principles.  Fabry  and 
Cheftrel,  who  were  very  honeft  men,  and  wiihed 
only  ior  the  welfare  of  their  country,  had  entirely 
loll  their  influence.  The  populace  of  Outremeufe, 
perhaps  the  moft  dangerous  in  Europe  after  thofe 
of  London  and  Paris,  had  made  themfelves  maf- 
ters,  not  of  the  government,  for  there  was  none, 
but  of  the  public  force.  Thofe  unhappy  men 
thought  only  of  vengeance  and  punimment. 
They  conducted  the  French  fpldiers  into  the 

houf  * 


houfes  of  their  particular  enemies,  whom  they 
treated  as  Ariftocrats  ;  that  is  to  fay,  they  pillaged 
and  murdered  them.  This  cruel  inteftine  war,  in 
which  each  French  foidier  took  an  active  part 
either  for  or  againit  his  hoft,  deftroyed  the  little 
difcipline.  and  good  ronducl:  which  had  hitherto 
exifted  in  the  French  army  in  the  midit  of  mifery, 
want,  and  complicated  diiireiles.  But  it  was  im- 
pofiible  to  punifh,  for  it  was  impcfubie  to  diicover 
the  guilty.  The  people  of  I/iege  call  the  fault 
upon  the  French  ;  and  the  French  recriminated 
upon  the  people  of  Liege.  The  General  would 
have  eftablHhed  the  pumfhment  of  death  for  fuch 
crimes.  It  had  even  been  demanded  of  him  by 
his  army  in  a  moment  of  enthufiafm.  But  the 
Commiliioners,  while  they  feemed  to  approve  of 
this  feverity,  fecretly  and  effectually  oppofed  it. 
Since  that  time,  we  have  feen  that  one  of  the 
caufes  of  the  execution  of  the  unfortunate  Cuftine, 
was  the  having  eftablifhed  the  punifhrnent  of  death 
in  his  army. 

Durhourier's  army  occupied  cantonments  from 
Aix-la-Chapelle  to  Liege,  in  which  cities  were  all 
the  officers  who  could  not  procure  quarters  with 
their  battalions.  So  that  the  foldiers  were  almoft 
left  without  commanders.  Want  had  carried 
marauding  to  its  utmoft  pitch.  The  foldiers  rob- 
bed in  bands  from  village  to  village  ;  and  the  psa- 
fants  took  their  revenge  in  killing  fuch  as,  at  any 
time,  they  found  fingle. 

General  Dumourier,  prevented  by  thefe  circum- 
fhmces  from  pufhing  on  to  Cologne,  and  forcing 
Clairfait  to  repafs  the  Rhine,  reiblved  at  lead  to 
fecure  the  Meufe.  lie  therefore  ordered  the 
army  of  the  Ardennes,  confuting  of  15000  men, 
and  commanded  by  General  Valence,  to  join  him  ; 
and  placed  them  on  his  right,  in  the  countries  of 
Stavelo,  Malmedy,  Spa,  Verviers,  and  Huy.  A 
body  of  18000  men  under  the  command  of  Gene- 

jal 


(    49     ) 

ral  d'Harville,  occupied  the  Meufe  from  Givet  to 
Namur  ;  having  his  out-pofts  at  Ciney,  Marche, 
and  Rochefort.  The  army  under  General  Miranda 
occupied  the  left  from  Tongres  to  Ruremonde.  It 
confiiled  of  18000  men.  New  battalions,  .lately 
arrived  from  France,  formed  the  gamfon  of  the 
Netherlands.  And  this  line  along  the  Meufe  a- 
mounted  to  from  65,000  to  70,000  men  ;  and  would 
have  been  fufficient  to  have  feized  upon  the  conn-* 
try  between  the  Meufe  and  the  Rhine,  and  to  have 
occupied  the  banks  of  that  la  ft  river  from  Burick 
to  Cologne,  if  it  had  been  pcfiible,  firft,  to  take 
Maeltricht,  which  General  Dumourier  was  not 
permitted  to  do,  although  he  had  propofed  it  in 
the  beginning  of  December,  and  had  it  then  in 
•his  power;  fecondly,  to  place  a  garrifon  in  Juliers, 
which  was  alfo  forbidden  hiixx  becaufe  it  was 
deemed  necefTary  to  keep  terms  with  the  Elector 
Palatine,  left  he  ihould  deliver  the  pafTage  of  Man- 
heim  to  the  Imperial  army,  by  which  means  they 
would  have  cut  off  the  army  of  Cuitine  from 
Alface  ;  and,  lailly,  if  the  army  of  Belgia  had  been 
provided  with  proviiions,  arms,  cioathing  and 
money,  fo  that  it  might  have  marched  in  the  month 
of  December,  and  have  forced  the  Imperialists  to 
repafs  the  Rhine. 

General  Dumourier  was  perfuaded  of  thQ  im- 
poilibility  of  his  preferving  his  poiition  on  the 
Meufe,  while  he  fhould  neither  be  in  pcfTefiion  of 
Gueiders,  Venloo,  Maeftricht,  nor  Juliers,  He 
wrote  to  the  Convention  and  the  Minifter  of  the 
War  Department  to  that  effecl.  The  reafcns  of 
his  opinion  will  be  found  in  his  correfpondence 
with  rache,  printed  in  January,  1793.  It  was  to- 
ward the  clofe  of  the  preceding  November  that 
his  quarrel  commenced  with  that  Minifter,  with 
the  Jacobins  who  fupported  him,  and  with  the 
Convention  who  had  not  difcernment  to  forefee 
the  effeds  of  his  criminal  conduct.  In  December 

H  began 


(     5°     ) 

began  the  trial  of  the  unfortunate  Monarch,  whole 
mild  character  conducted  him  to  the  fcaifold. 
From  that  inftant,  the  general  forefaw  the  crimes 
and  misfortunes  that  have  fmce  fprung  from  the 
chaos  in  France.  He  attempted  to  found  the  dif- 
pofitions  of  his  army  respecting  the  King,  but  his 
Staff-officers  whom  he  employed  in  the  taflt  eriecV 
ed  nothing,  and  thenceforward  the  general  was 
profcribed.  Not  one  foldier,  not  one  officer 
would  confider  the  cafe  of  the  king.  Every  one 
difcovered  the  fame  ap-athy  ;  and  this  cold  difpo- 
lition  in  the  army  ou  that  point,  hailened  the 
General's  deUgn  of  viiiting  Paris. 


C  H  A  P.     III. 

General  Dumottrier  departs  Jrom  Leige  for  Paris. 


G 


'ENERAL  Dumourler  was  thus  a  prey  to  va- 
rious' chagrins  in  the  palace  of  the  Prince  Biihop 
of  Leige ;  and,  if  it  can  be  a  confolation  to  that 
Prelate,  he  may  read  with  pleafure  that  after  the 
moil  fplendid  victories,  this  general  was  more 
unfortunate  than  himfeif.  He  had  been  harraded 
by  the  calumnies  of  the  Jacobins  from  the  mo- 
ment that  he  had  faved  France  by  driving  a  for- 
midable foe  out  of  her  territory.  The  conqueii 
of  Belgium  had  in-created  the  column  cf  Lis  ene- 
mies-, to  exprefs  himfeif  in  the  words  he  ufed  to 
the  National  Convention  after  the  battle  of  Je- 
mappe.  He  almoft  reproached  himfeif  with 
having  loft  the  opportunity  of  quitting  the  com- 
mand that  was  offered  him  on  his  return  from 
Champagne,  by  the  ingratitude^  of  his  fellow- 
citizens.  He  had  caufed  the  war  to  be  declared, 

in 


(     5'     ) 

in  his  former  fituation  as  miniller  of  foreign  af- 
fairs ;  he  had  afterward  concluded  it  with  glory 
as  a  general ;  he  had  nothing  wherewith  to  re- 
proach himfelf  on  thefe  accounts ;  but  he  faw 
the  fucceffes  of  the  war  mouldering  away,  and  he 
could  not  but  be  penetrated  with  grief,  iince  the 
important  (hare  he  had  taken  in  the  public  con- 
cerns during  nine  months,  had  identified  his  fate 
with  that  of  his  country. 

All  his  letters  and  memorials  were  either  re- 
jected or  millnterpreted;.  and  his  counfels  flight- 
ed. Cambon  declared,  nothing  could  be  more 
dangerous  to  a  republic  than  a  victorious  general. 
It  was  laid  down  as  an  axiom  in  the  tribune  of 
the  National  Convention,  that  ingratitude  was  a 
neceffary  virtue  in  Republicans.  The  Conven- 
tion with-held  the  recompences  due  to  the  he- 
roes of  Champagne  and  Belgium,  becaufe  the 
General  had  demanded  them.  By  a  decree,  they 
authorized  the  minifter  of  war  to  annul  the  nomi- 
nation of  officers  made  by  the  Generals.  The 
corps  were  left  deftitute  of  officers.  New  and 
ignorant  men  came  from  France,  to  gather  the 
fruits  of  the  army's  toils.  The  General  com- 
plained of  thefe  things  to  the  National  Conven- 
tion ;  and  declared,  if  they  would  not  do  him 
right  refpecling  them,  both  as  to  the  wants  of  his 
army  and  the  other  evils  which  were  the  caufe  of 
its  deftruclion  and  diforganization,  he  fliould  be 
compelled  to  give  in  his  refignation. 

He  demanded  as  an  indifpeniible  flep,  the  re- 
vocation of  the  impolitic  and  unjuft  decree  of  the 
1 5th  of  December,  that  had  driven  the  Belgians 
to  defpair.  Notwithlianding  the  remon  (trances 
oi-  the  General,  it  had  been  reioived  in  the  Con- 
vention that  the  decree  ihoukl  take  place  on  the 
flril  of  January.  Cambon  had  obtained  this  cle- 
cifion  ;  the  four  Commiffioners  Camus,  Goifuin, 
on,  ancl  La  Croix,  fupported  him;  and  the 
Ii  2 


(     52     ) 

two  latter  boafted  that  they  had    done    fo,  to  a-, 
venge  themfelves  for  an  in'fult  they  had   received 
at  Ath,  where  they  had  been  refufed  a   lodging. 
The  General's   honour  was  concerned    in    pre- 
venting  the  execution  of  the    tyrannical  decree, 
becaufe  when  he  entered  the  Netherlands   en  the 
third  of  November  he   had  publifhed,  with  the 
fancftion  of  the  National  Convention,  a   procla- 
mation declaring  to  the  Belgians,  that  the  French 
entered  their  country   as  friends  and   brethren ; 
that  they   came  to  give  them  entire  liberty  ;  and 
that  the  people  fhould  be  left  to  chufe  their  own 
constitution  and  mode  of  government,    without 
interference  from  the  French.     The  decree  not 
only  dcftroyed  the  force  of  this  proclamation,  but 
alfo  robbed  the  unhappy  Belgians    of  all  remains 
of  liberty.      The  Commifiioners   fequeflered   the 
public  property  and  that  of  the  clergy ;  and   this 
nation    no  longer  pofleiTed  any  public  revenue, 
nor  the  authorities  necelTary  to  preferve  even  the 
form   of  government. 

Cambon  expected  to  find  money  for-  the  ex- 
pences  of  the  war,  in  this  plunder  of  a  country 
th^t  was  the  friend  of  France,  and  that  had  not 
been  conquered,  but  had  voluntarily  afibciated 
itfelf  with  the  Republic.  This  criminal  and 
fordid  conduct  produced  no  benefit  to  France ; 
on  the  contrary,  it  deprived  her  of  40,000  men, 
that  the  Belgians  were  willing  to  furnifli,  and  fifty 
millions  of  livres  that  they  would  have  poured 
into  the  French  treaiury,  to  contribute  to  the  de- 
fence of  their  liberty  ;  and  was  followed  by  the 
Ic's  of  thofe  fine  Provinces,  and  excited  a  de- 
tailation  of  the  National  Convention  and  their 
Commifiioners,  that  will  be  eternal. 

By  an  article  of  the  decree  the  generals  were 
charged  with  its  execution,  and  were  required  to 
place  the  feals  on  the  public  property.       General 
Dumourier  rejected  this  dishonourable  employ- 
ment ; 


(     53     ) 

ment;  and  the  cornmiflioners  gave  the  charge  to 
JR-oniin,  \vho  employed  as  his  inftruments,  iol- 
diers  and  clerks  of  office,  ail  Jacobins,  who  Hole 
half  the  wealth  they  were  ordered  to  fecure  in  the 
name  of  the  nation. 

The  general,  being  unable  to  prevent  thefe  bafe 
actions,  refolved,  at  lead,  to  mark  his  difapproba- 
tion  of  them    as  much  as    he  could,  to  the  Bel- 
gians,   by     being   abfent,    if  that  were  poilible,, 
while  they  fhould  be  tranfacling.     On  thefe,  and, 
all  the  other  fubjecls  of  his  vexation,    he  explain- 
ed his  views  fo  clearly  to  the   commiffioners,  and 
General  Valence    iupported  his  realbnings  with 
fuch  force,  that  in  a  conference  held  at  Leige  be- 
tween the  cottiiniffioners,  the   generals,  and  the 
adm iniflrators  that  were  entrufted  with  providing 
fubliftence  for  the  army,  it   being  clearly  fliewn 
to  thefe  admini ftrators  that  they  could  not  furnifh 
him  proviiions  even  to  remain  at  Leige,  much  lefk 
to  march  forward,  it  was  decided  that  Camus,   the 
Prefident   of    the  com  million,   fhould  return   to 
Paris,  attended   by  General  Thouvenct,  the  firll 
to  make  a  fuitable  report  to  the  National  Conven- 
tion, and  the  fecond  to   lay  before  the   military 
committee  an  account  of  the  wants  of  the  army, 
and  to  obtain  the  neceflary  arrangements,  and  aiib 
iblid  and  ample  contracts  for  eftablifhing  maga- 
zines on  the  Meufe,  and  mere  than  all    the   reilv 
to  obtain  a  revocation  of  the   decree    of  the  l  f>th 
of  December,  which  added  the  whole  Belgic  na- 
tion   to  the  number  of   our  enemies.     General 
Thouvenot  took  with   him  alfo  written  obferva- 
tions  of  generals  on  the  plan  of  the  campaign, 
as  laid  down  by  the  minifler   of  war,  and  was   to 
bring  back  with  him  a  decifion  en  that  point. — 
The  journey,  however,  was  altogether  unibccefs- 
ful,  notwithstanding  the  talents  of  General  Thou- 
venot, becaufe  Camus,  opiniated,  deceitful  and 
vulgar,     .and     not    contented   without    engroff- 

ing 


(     54     ) 

ing  all  the  honour  of  the  embafTy,  afTumed  the 
iole  right  of  ipeaking,  fupported  the  decree, 
and  yielded  to  the  will  of  others  refpeding  the 
article  of  the  committee  of  contracts.  Thus, 
inilead  of  removing  the  evils  complained  of,  he 
only  increaled  the  difficulty  of  the  general's  litn- 
ation. 

Meanwhile  General  Dumourier  {hut  himfelf 
up  in  the  palace  of  Liege,  and  was  employed  in 
iblliciting  leave  to  return  to  Paris,  and  in  re- 
fleding  on  his  mifery.  He  continued  to  declare 
in  his  letters  and  memorials  that  it  was  impoflible 
for  him  any  longer  to  hold  the  command  if  the 
Convention  did  not  abolifh  the  committee  of 
contracts,  which  was  no  better  than  a  den  of 
knaves,  and  had  cancelled  his  bargains  of  every 
kind  with  the  Belgians;  and  if  they  .did  not 
change  the  minirler  for  the  war  department,  who 
had  nearly  ruined  the  armies,  and  if  they  Ihculd 
continue  to  treat  as  conquered  countries  the  pro- 
vinces that  mould  be  allied  to  France. 

Such  were  the  ofieniibie  motives  on  whir!:  the 
general  demanded  leave  to  go  to  Paris.  \  He  had 
another,  however,  much  more  efiential ;  but 
which  he  concealed  with  the  utmoft  care.  It  was 
to  endeavour  to  iave  the  unfortunate  Louis  the 
XVIth,  by  reprefenting  to  the  governing  party 
the  clanger  to  which  the  nation  was  expofed  with- 
out ;  and  the  neceliity  of  forming  a  foiid  plan  for 
the  campaign,  which  it  would  be  neceifary  to 
commence  at  a  very  early  period.  He  hoped  the 
weight  of  this  coniideration,  aided  by  other  mo- 
tives, he  meant  to  urge  on  the  different  factions 
:ti  the  convention,  would  iecure  a  iulpenlion  o£ 
the  abominable  trial. 

General  Dumourier  was  in  this  embarralTrd 
iirration  at  Leige,  and  his  mind  agitated  in  the 
manner  we  have  icen,  at.  the  very  moment  when 
the  jacobins  were  contriving  to  bring  him  to 

trial ; 


(     55     ) 

« 

trial ;  and  when  they  pretended  that  he  paffed 
his  time  furrounded  by  courtezans  and  aclreiTes. 
The  miniilry  indeed  had  fent  him  a  detachment 
from  the  opera ;  but  thefe  returned  to  Paris  after 
a  flay  of  no  more -than  twenty-four  hours.  This 
expedition,  and  that  of  a  troop  of  comedians 
from  the  theatre  of  Montanfier,  coil  the  nation 
more  than  100,000  livres,  the  government  pre- 
tending to  inculcate  French  revolutionary  prin- 
ciples to  the  Belgians,  by  exhibiting  democratic 
pieces  in  their  theatres.  The  -general  difdained 
to  be  the  protector  of  fuch  follies.  Ail  that  he 
faw  of  thefe  deputies  from  the  opera  was  at  his 
table,  having  invited  them  to  dinner.  And 
certainty  they  conducted  themfelves  with  much 
decency  and  good  fenfe  ;  and  difcovered  much 
more  fagacity  than  the  miniflers  that  had  fent 
them. 

The  general  found  it  extremely  difficult  to  ob- 
tain his  leave  of  abfence.  Pache  and  the  Ja- 
cobins feared  his  prefence  at  Paris.  And  hav- 
ing in  vain  urged  the  {late  of  his  health  and  his 
need  of  repofe,  he  was  at  length  compelled  to 
engage  the  commiilioners  to  demand  the  leave  of 
abfence  directly  in  their  own  name,  and  to  de- 
clare folemnly  his  determination  to  reiign  in  cafe 
of  refufal. 

In  the  midfi  of  the  vices  that  infeded  the 
army,  there  remained  a  fentiment  of  juftice  a- 
mong  the  foldiers  which  fccured  their  attach- 
ment to  a  general  with  whom  they  had  always 
been  victorious,  and  to  whom  they  could  no 
way  attribute  their  prefent  diftrefs.  The  com- 
mifTioners  therefore  declared  in  their  letters  that 
the  army  would  certainly  difband  themfelves 
mould  the  general  refign.  The  leave  of  abfence 
arrived ;  and  the  General  prepared  inftantly  to 
depart,  although  La  Croix  propofed  to  make  a 
tour  with  him  to  Aix-la-Chapelle,  in  the  hope 

of 


(     56     ) 

of  detaining  him  flill  longer  in  that  country.  But 
Duniourier  had  fecretty  determined  never  more  to 
refume  the  commancr;  and  was  not  willing  by 
viiiting  the  quarters,  to  make  a  tacit  engagement 
with  the  ibldlers  for  his  return. 

He  arrived  at  Bnvftels  ;  the  command  of  which 
he  had  given  to  General  Moreton.  This  mar,, 
who  died  in  good  time  at  Douay,  had  played  a 
very  curious  part  at  Paris  in  the  Revolution.  Pie 
was  an  Aristocrat,  taking  that  word  in  its  moft 
odious  acceptation.  He  had  been  colonel  of  the 
regiment  of  La  Fere,  and  he  had  been  broken 
under  the  old  government  for  the  vileft  acts  of 
military  deipctiirn.  Refentment  threw  him  into 
the  hands  of  the  Republican  party ;  and  his  in- 
fluence in  the  councils  of  the  Palais  Royal  had 
made  him  one  of  the  chief  actors  in  the  Revolu- 
tion. Become  lecretary  of  the  Jacobins  he  plotted 
to  procure  a  revifion  of  his  former  fentence  ;  but 
the  fentence  remained  in  its  original  Date.  He 
was  afterwards  appointed  colonel  in  the  army  of 
the  north,  and  as  he  was  well  acquainted  with 
all  the  parts  of  the  difcipline  of  the  infantry, 
and  had  considerable  ability,  General  Dumou- 
rier  appointed  him  chief  of  the  fhff  to  the  ar- 
my of  the  North.  When  Dumourier  took  upon 
him  the  command  in  Champagne,  Moreton,  who 
could  not  penetrate  the  veil  that  covered  that 
affair,  although  perfectly  brave,  mifconducted 
himfelf  at  the  breaking  up  of  the  camp  of  Maulde  ; 
and  was  in  danger  of  being  maffacred  by  the  peo- 
ple of  Valenciennes.  General  Bumourier's  re- 
turn to  the  army  of  the  north,  then  become  the 
army  of  Belgium,  replaced  Moreton  at  the  head 
of  his  llaff.  But  as  Thouvenot  poifeffed  qualities 
for  the  iituation  which  Moreton  wanted,  Dumou- 
rier  made  the  latter  lieutenant-general  by  feniority 
(for  fix  months  was  fufficient  to  advance  men  to 
the  higheft  rank  by  feniority  in  this  revolutionary 

army) 


(    57     ) 

army)  and  gave  him  the  command  at  BrmTels  and 
in  Brabant,  in  order  to  make  General  Thouvenot 
head  of  the  ftarY.  Moreton  then  threw  off  all  re- 
irraint  toward  General  Dumourier,  and  entirely 
gained  by  the  Jacobins^  to  whom  he  already  owed 
many  obligations,  he  oppofed  the  fentiments  and 
judgment  of  his  General  in  every  pofllble  way. 
He  adopted  the  decree  of  the  15th  of  December  ; 
and  became  hateful  to  the  people  of  Brabant. 
General  Dumourier  found  him  furrounded  by  the 
Jacobin  populace.  He  had  raifed  a  corps  that 
aliumed  the  name  of  the  Sans  Culottes.  Thefe 
-came  to  make  an  harangue  to  the  General ;  and 
ufed  the  phrafes  tbou  and  citizen.  Dumourier 
was  offended  with  this  grofinefs ;  and  plainly  told 
them  that  being  chiefly  French  foldiers,  they  ought 
not  to  addrefs  him  in  fuch  familiar  phrafes,  be- 
caufe  fuch  exprefled  an  equality  inconfiftent  with 
the  difcipline  of  an  army  ;  that  they  ought  to  call 
him  General  or  Citizen-general,  but  never  citizen, 
without  fuch  like  addition.  He  ordered  their  fta- 
tutes  to  be  brought  to  him,  and  told  them,  that  oil 
his  return  from  Paris,  he  would  decide  reflecting 
them :  for  this  mob  demanded  pay  ;  and  were 
really  paid,  though  unknown  to  the  General,  with 
the  confent  of  the  commiflioners,  as  a  reccmpenfe 
for  their  fbrvices,  or  rather  for  the  atrocious  vex- 
ations they  had  committed. 

General  Dumcurier  had  before  this,  fent  a  pro- 
clamation from  Liege,  to  engage  the  Belgians 
fpeedily  to  hold  their  primary  affemblies,  and 
forthwith  to  chufe  a  conflituent  afTembly  ;  becaiife 
in  the  decree  of  the  15th  of  December  it  was  faid, 
that  the  fequeftration  of  the  public  property  Should 
ceafe  when  the  people  of  Belgia  ihould  have  chofen 
their  reprefentatives.  The  commiflioners  faw 
clearly  enough  that  the  appointment  of  an  afTembly: 
would  reftore  the  Belgians  to  their  liberty,  and 
would  deprive  the  qommiflioners  of  the  admini- 
I  ftration 


ftration  of  the  public  revenue,  and  efpecially  of 
the  plundering  of  the  churches.  They  therefore 
delayed  the  publifhing  of  the  General's  proclama- 
tion"; and  afterwards  its  execution,  and  prevented 
the  holding  of  the  primary  afiemblies  at  Aloft,  the 
place  Dumourier  had  appointed,  with  a  view  to 
counteract  the  iniluence  of  the  populace  of  Brui- 
fels.  The  General  had  been  warned  by  the  ex- 
ample of  Louis  the  XVI.  who  might  ha\e  avoided 
the  influence  of  Paris,  by  affembling  the  dates- 
general  at  Tours,  Orleans,  Blois,  or  Bourges. 
But  feeing,  now,  that  the  only  means  of  (hatching 
Belgium  from  the  tyranny  of  the  French  Conven- 
tion had  failed,  he  continued  his  journey  without 
delay  to  Paris. 


C  II  A  P.     IV. 

General  Dumourier  s  abode  at  Pans* 


\jrENERAL  Dumourier  arrived  in  Paris  on  the 
firft  of  January.  Having  reflected  that,  on  his 
vifit  to  that  place  after  the  expullicn  of  the  Pruf- 
fians  from  Champagne,  Marat  and  the  other  Ja- 
cobin journalifts  had  reproached  him  with  (hew- 
ing himfelf  at  the  theatre,  and  with  feeking  popu- 
larity, he  refolved  to  avoid  all  places  of  public 
refort,  to  live  as  privately  as  poifible,  and  to  fee 
Only  his  particular  friends,  or  fuch  perfons  as 
might  be  ufeful  to  him  in  the  objects  of  his  jour- 
ney. 

He  was   five   days  without  leaving  his  apart- 
ments, during  which  he  ccmpofed  four  memo- 
rials :  the  iir ft  on  the  neceffity  of  recalling  the  de- 
cree 


(     59     ) 

cree  of  the  I5tb  of  December,  which  had  been 
confirmed  and  even  -aggravated  by  two  decrees 
palled  on  the  28th  and  311!  of  the  fame  month  ; 
the  iecond,  refpecling  the  ill  effects  of  the  com- 
mittee of  contracts,  and  the  neceility  of  replacing 
on  the  old  footing  the  fupplying  of  the  army  with 
proviiions,  forage,  horfes,  clothing,  Sec.  by  the 
appointment  of  intelligent  contractors ;  and  the 
third  and  fourth  on  military  affairs  and  the  plans 
of  the  enfuing  campaign.  He  concluded  each 
of  thefe  memorials  by  a  new  declaration  of  his 
refolution  to  reiign  if  the  National  Convention 
ihould  neglect  any  of  thefe  objeds.  He  accom-r 
panied  them  by  a  letter  to  the  Preiident,  requeft- 
jng  him  to  engage  the  Convention  to  form  a  new 
committee  for  the  purpofe  of  treating  with  the 
Generals,  both  as  to  the  wants  of  the  armies  and 
future  military  operations.  On  the  yth  of  Janu- 
ary, he  fent  the  memorials  and  his  letter  to  the 
preiident,  whole  name  was  Treilhard,  who  had  for- 
merly been  an  advocate,  and  who  Ihoitly  after  this 
was  joined  with  Merlin  of  Douay,  another  advocate, 
to  the  four  former  commiilioners  of  Belgia.  The 
preiident  neglecting  to  communicate  the  papers 
to  the  Convention,  General  Dumourier  wrote  him 
Another  letter,  very  fhort  and  peremptory. 

On  the  nth  of  January,  a  fummary  account 
of  the  affajr  was  given  to  the  convention.  The 
letter  was  read.  The  memorials  were  fuppreffed 
there,  and  fent  to  a  committee  of  twenty-one 
members  recently  efhblHhed  under  the  name  of 
the  committee  of  general  fafefy.  The  mo  ft  po- 
pular members  of  the  other  committees  had  been 
ielecled  for  this  committee,  They  opened  their 
fittings  on  the  13th,  and  the  General  was  invited 
to  a  (lift.  The  memorials  were  read.  Ignorane 
and  frivolous  diiputes  fucceeded,  All  ipoke  to^ 
gether.  And,  after  fitting  three  hours,  they  broke, 
up  without  making  the  leail  progrcfs.  A  further 
I  ?  i$emorial, 


(     60     ) 

memorial,  more  detailed  on  certain  points,  was 
demanded  of  the  General.  As  to  the  plan  of  the 
campaign,  the  members  unanimoufly  agreed  ut- 
terly to  decline  the  confideration  of  it,  alleging 
that  it  belonged  properly  to  the  executive  coun- 
cil. The  General  attended  a  1'econd  fitting  of 
the  committee,  held  on  the  evening  of  the  15111 
with  a  memorial  containing  a  minute  ilatement 
of  the  required  information.  There  were  not 
mere  than  half  of  the  members  prefent.  They 
dropped  in  one  after  another;  and,  running 
ilightiy  through  the  memorial,  which  was  very  long 
and  intricate,  no  more  was  faid  of  the  matter. 

General  Valence  arrived  previous  to  this  fitting; 
lie  was  admitted,  and  read  a  memorial  refpecting 
the*  recruiting  and  new  modelling  of  the  army, 
He  propofed  that  the  infantry  fhould  be  divided 
into  brigades,  by  incorporating  two  battalions  of 
the  National  guards  with  each  battalion  of  the  line. 
This  projeci,  adopted  by  the  Convention  in  the 
midft  of  the  enfuing  campaign,  completed  the 
ruin-  of  the  French  army,  by  rendering  it  a  body 
of  mere  volunteers  without  reflraint  or  diicipline. 
The  attention  of  the  committee,  whole  trifling  and 
inquilitive  difpofition  was  equalled  only  by  their 
ignorance  and  indifference  to  the  public  welfare, 
was  caught  by  this  novelty,  although  it  ought  never 
to  have  been  difcuifed  hut  in  a  time  of  peace,  or 
at  leaf!  not  till  the  concluiion  of  the  campaign  ; 
and  the  committee  entirely  threw  afide  the  impor- 
tant objects  contained  in  the  General's  memoirs.. 

General  Biron,  having  quitted  the  army  of  AI- 
iace  to  take  upon  him  the  command  of  that  in  the 
country  of  Kice,  afliiled  alfo  at  the  third  fitting  ; 
and  read  a  very  preffing  memorial  refpecting  the. 
new  contractors  and  the  committee  of  contracts, 
The  miniflcr  of  war  being  ordered  to  attend,  and. 
not  being  able  to  anfwer  the  accusations  of  the 
three  Generals,  was  very  grofCy  treated  by  the 

-  committee 


(     6!     ) 

(Committee,  charmed  with  finding  an  opportunity 
of  humbling  a  mhnfler.  They  had,  however,  a 
"juft  occafion  in  the  prefent  inftance,  for  the  mi- 
nifter  had  no  other  defence  to  oiler  than  the  pre- 
fenting  of  ftatements  taxed  with  being  faife.  And 
the  whole  affair  was  referred  to  the  military  com- 
mittee, the  leaft  refpectable  of  all  the  committees 
of  the  Convention. 

General  Dumourier  afterwards  attended  a  fourth 
fitting.  There  were  but  five  members  prefent. 
They  difcufied  nothing.  And,  when  they  fepa- 
rated,  they  told  him  they  would  fend  for  him 
when  they  fliould  have  occafion  to  confuit  him 
again.  Immediately  the  General  retired  to  a  fmall 
country  houfe  at  Ciichy,  from  whence  he  came 
every  day  to  Paris  in  the  prcfecuticn  of  his  great- 
eft  object,  that  of  faving  the  king,  He  was  never 
again  called  to  attend  the  committee  of  general 
fafety.  All  the  important  affairs  of  France  were 
fufpended  during  that  moment  for  the  purluit  of 
a  meafure  that  involved  the  ruin  of  the  nation. 
The  Convention  were  occupied  bv  nothing  but 
the  trial  of  the  king  ;  which  was  profecuted  with 
the  greateft  bitternefs  and  mod  indecent  bar- 
barity. 

It  was  from  the  fate  of  his  memorials  that  Ge- 
neral Durnourier  expected  the  falvatic-n  or  the 
ruin  of  his  country.  Had  they  been  adopted,  he 
cleiigned  to  have  presented  himfelf  to  the  Con- 
vention, to  have  appeared  in  public,  and  openly 
to  have  canvaffed  for  the  unfortunate  monarch. 
He  might  then  have  promifed  himielf  an  impor- 
tant influence.  He  would  have  been  furrounded 
by  a  number  of  officers  and  foldiers  of  his  army 
who  were  on  leave  of  abfence  at  Paris.  And, 
by  adding  other  means  to  thefe,  he  would  have 
commanded  a  party  fafficiently  llrong  to  counter- 
act the  Jacobins,  and  their  fupport,  the  federates. 
This  refource  was  loft ;  and,  far  from  being  able 

to 


(     62     ) 

to  fave  the  king,  General  Dumourier,  deflittite  of 
power  and  influence,  and  coniidered  as  a  man 
dangerous  to  the  republic,  becaufe  he  difapproved 
of  the  crimes  that  were  committing,  feared  only  to 
injure  Louis  XVI.  to  precipitate  the  horrible  ca- 
tairrophe,  which  thenceforward  appeared  inevita- 
ble, and  which  has  coft  the  General  nothing  but 
anguifli. 

A  contemptible  man,  a  man  without  knowledge 
and  capacity,  General  La  Bourdonnaye,  the  per- 
fonal  enemy  of  General  Dumourier,  in  revenge 
for  having  loft  the  command  of  the  army  of  the 
north  in  the  preceding  year,  in  coniequence  of 
complaints  made  againlt  him  by  General  Dumou- 
rier, pnblifhed  throughout  Paris  that  the  General 
had  no  other  object  in  coming  there  than  to  lave 
ihe  moft  hone  ft  man  in  ihe  kingdom,  it  was  an  ap- 
pellation that  indeed  General  Dumourier  had  very 
juilly  given  to  the  king  in  a  letter  written  in  1 791  ; 
and  which  had  been  printed,  with  the  other  papers 
found  in  the  iron  cheft,  that  Roland  had  lately 
delivered  up  to  the  Convention. 

The  fame  report  was  fpread  by  the  Jacobins, 
efpecially  by  Marat  and  his  too  active  faction-. 
It  was  faid  tha£  the  General  held  confutations  with 
Roland  and  the  Girondiils  every  evening.  And 
thefe  lait,  offended  that  he  was  as  unwilling  to  vilit 
them  in  private,  as  the  Jacobins,  fpread  the  ru- 
mour that  he  fecretiy  law  Philip  Egalite^  that 
man  unworthy  of  bearing  the  name  i;f  Duke  of 
Orleans. 

Dumourier  \vent  each  day  to  the  council  ;  and 
returned  in  the  evening  to  Clichy.  But  he  never 
dined  with  any  of  the  Miniders,  except  Le  Brim 
and  Garat.  He  avowedly  fhunncd  the  houles  of 
Monge,  mmifter  of  the  marine  ;  Roland,  miniiier 
of  the  hcrne  department  ;  Claviere,  minifter  of 
the  finances  ;  and  above  all,  that  of  Pache,  niiniiter 
•oi  the  war  department. 

The 


(     63     ) 

The  war-office  was  become  the  filthieft  place 
imaginable,  where  400  clerks,  and  numbers  of 
women,  affected  to  carry  flovenlinefs  of  drefs  and 
coarfenefs  of  manners  into  a  fyftem  :  Nothing  was 
forwarded  in  the  office,  and  nothing  but  rapacity 
was  to  be  feen  on  all  hands.  Several  of  the  vil- 
lains employed  in  this  department,  having  Hal- 
fenfratz  and  Meufnier  at  their  head,  worked  day 
and  night  to  colled  falfe  depositions,  and  to  forge 
papers,  to  fubftantiate  the  accusation  that  HafFen- 
fratz  had  made  at  the  Jacobin  ibciety  again  ft  the 
General,  charging  him  with  having  embezzled 
twelve  hundred  thoufand  livres  in  his  contracts  in 
Belgium.  They  excited  the  hatred  of  the  federates 
againft  the  General;  and  often  palling  by  groupes 
of  thefe,  he  has  heard  them  propole  in  a  loud 
voice  to  place  his  head  on  the  top  of  a  pike.  One 
day  in  particular,  he  thought  himfelf  happy  in 
efcaping  through  a  narrow  paflage  from  a  gang  of 
thofe  federates  in  the  ftreet  of  Montmartre,  being 
warned  againft  them  by  a  tradefman  who  knew 
him,  he  having  formerly  lived  two  years  in  the 
fame  ftreet.  In  the  general  meetings  of  the  fee- 
tions  and  in  the  coffee-houfes,  men  were  paid  to 
declaim  againft  him  ;  and  it  was  more  than  once 
in  contemplation  to  feize  upon  his  perfcn. 

The  frightful  Santerre,  commander  of  the  Na- 
tional guards  of  Paris,  profetTed  a  great  attachment 
to  General  Dumourier;  and  frequently  prefied 
him  to  dine  with  his  brother-in-law.  His  defign 
was  to  entice  him  to  dine  with  Marat.  The  Ge- 
neral always  declined  the  invitation,  but  on  thq 
politeft  pretences ;  obliged,  in  order  to  efcape  af- 
iafiination,  to  behave  with  feeming  refpecl  to  this 
execrable  man. 

A  circumftance  that  happened  at  this  time,  ren- 
dered the  fuuation  of  the  General  more  critical, 
although  he, had  no  concern  in  it.  Colonel  Wei- 
terrnan  had  caned  Marat  on  the  Fom-neuf,  for 


having  in  his  journal  accufed  the  Colonel  of  being 
the  creaaire  of  General  Dumourier,  and  the  prin- 
cipal iriitrument  of  his  robberies.  Marat  thirfted 
to  revenge  himfelt  on  the  General,  whom  he  fup- 
pcfed  to  be  the  author  of  the  infult.  Dumourier 
every  day  received  intimations  of  Marat's  deiigns 
againll  him,  both  from  particular  friends  and  by 
anonymous  letters.  And  the  General,  for  the  firit 
time  in  his  life,  adopted  the  precaution  of  carry- 
ing piftols  in  his  pocket. 

Du  Bois  de  Crance,  the  mod  cowardly  and  bar- 
barous of  the  Jacobins,  being  one  day  at  table 
v.ith  the  General,  (hewed  a  difpoiition  to  offend 
him,  imagining  that  the  General,  would  be  terri- 
fied by  his  great  bulk  and  the  ferocity  of  his  air. 
General  Dumourier  laid  hold  of  him,  and  im- 
paled filence  upon  him  very  effectually.  Du  Bois 
de  Crance,  in  revenge,  repeated  every  day  in  the 
Convention  that  Dumourier  defpifed  its  members, 
painting  it  as  an  affembly  confining  of  four  hun- 
dred fools  headed  by  three  hundred  robbers.  Thus 
a  violent  iiorm  gathered  round  the  General ;  and 
his  enemies  waited  only  for  his  resignation  to  ar- 
reft  and  try  him.  He  had  long  before  been  pro- 
fcribed. 


CHAP. 


(     65     ) 

# 

CHAP.     V. 

Trial  of  the  King, 


J.  T  was  in  the  fame  temper  that  this  horde  of 
cannibals  pufhed  on  the  trial  of  the  King  with  the 
bitterer!  fury  and  the  rrioft  horrible  joy.  The  trial 
is  in  the  hands  of  all  the  nations  of  Europe.  The 
proofs,  documents,  and  pleadings  are  publifhed, 
and  will  remain  the  diihonour  of  the  French  na- 
tion to  all  pofterity.  Never  was  crime  committed 
with  fuch  cowardice,  fuch  cold  bloodednefs,  an-d 
fuch  deliberation  of  mind.  More  than  an  hun- 
dred and  fifty  members  of  the  pretended  tribunal, 
had  printed  and  publifhed  their  opinion  even  be- 
fore they  had  been  made  acquainted  with  the  facts 
and  papers,  on  which  it  ought  to  nave  been  found- 
ed. They  ought  therefore  to  have  abftained  from 
giving  their  vote,  or  their  vote  ought  to  have  been 
rejected;  but  the  unfortunate  Louis  XVI.  had 
none  of  the  privileges  of  an  accufed  man  on  his 
trial.  It  is  aftoni  thing  that  the  three  hundred 
and. ten  members,  who  had  the  courage  to  vote 
for  pre-ferving  the  king's  life  in  fpite  of  the  dag- 
gers at  their  throats,  had  not  refolutely  infilled 
that  each  of  the  judges  who  had  given  his  opinion 
publicly  in  writing,  ihould  be  incapacitated  from 
voting.  But  thofe  friends  of  humanity  will  par- 
don this  reflection  in  an  hiftorian,  who,  far  from 
deiigning  to  call  a  reproach  upon  them,  withes 
to  have  the  power  of  railing  a  column  to  their 
names,  as  deferring  of  remembrance,  as  were  the 
names  of  the  heroes  at  Marathon.  In  the  unwor- 

K  ihieft 


(     66    ) 

thief!  affembly  in  the  world,  were  found  three  hun- 
dred and  ten  men,  who  acted  with  confcience  and 
courage  in  the  midft  rf general  depravity  and  cow- 
ardice, and  to  'whom  the  royal  family  of  France 
has  an  eternal  obligation.  Juft  and  humane  citi- 
zens, receive  the  homage  of  a  foldier,  who  ac- 
knowledges more  courage  in  your  conduct  than  he 
has  (hewn,  or  than  he  has  feen,  in  all  his  battles 
where  he  commanded  with  iuch  fuccefs  and  glory! 

This  homage  is  pure  and  difmterefted.  He 
who  pays  it  expects  nothing  from  kings,  and  is 
the  friend  of  liberty ;  and,  having  ferved  his 
country  honeitly  has  renounced  her,  whether 
ilie  again  be  brought  under  the  terrible  yoke  of 
defpbtifm,  or,  by  the  ignorance  and  falfe  policy 
of  the  combined  powers,  (he  {hall  remain  a  re- 
public under  the  iron  fyftem  of  the  Jacobins  : 
For  he  no  longer  has  any  hope  of  feeing  France 
governed  by  a  conilitutional  king,  fubject  to  the 
law,  and  the  fupport  of  the  law.  Your  virtue 
(hall  be  more  refpected  in  after  times,  inafmuch 
as  it  {hall  appear  in  the  fame  page  with  the  con- 
dud  of  the  Girondifts,  whofe  intrigues,  as  far  at 
leaf!  as  they  are  known  to  General  Dumourier, 
(hall  be  delivered  over,  one  by  one,  to  hiflory 
whole  province  it  is  to  punifh  crimes. 

It  has  often  been  demanded  if  it  were  the  in- 
tention of  the  Girondine  party  to  fave  the  king. 
The  quelrj'on  is  difficult  to  anfwer  ;  and  it  does  not 
feemthat  we  candifcover  the  truth,  but  in  dillin- 
guifliing  two  periods  of  very  different  characters 
in  the  exigence  of  this  faction,  and  confequently 
in  its  ambitious  members,  that  varied  with  the 
change  of  circumflances. 

It  is  certain  that  this  faction,  after  having  long 
fwayed  the  Convention  and  the  miniitry,  elated 
by  the  excefs  of  their  influence,  openly  afpired  to 
the  efrablifliing  of  a  Republic,  as  the  means  of 
perpetuating  their  power.  They  had  fubdued  the 

feu  il  Jans,, 


(     67     )     . 

feuillans,  the  moderate  party,  and  the  royalifts. 
They  had  enlifled  moft  of  the  daily  journals  on 
their  fide.  The  Paris  Journal,  the  Chronicle, 
the  Monitor,  the  Patriot,  the  Thermometer,  the 
Journals  of  Gorlas  and  of  Carra,  in  a  word,  all 
that  were  efteemed,  and  in  great  circulation,  were 
compofed,  corrected,  and  edited  by  the  -members 
of  this  faction.  The  beft  orators  of  the  Conven- 
tion, Gaudet,  Vergneaux,  La  Source,  Briilbt,. 
Genfonne,  and  Condorcet,  gave  reputation  and 
currency  to  the  opinions  of  the  faction.  They 
had  feized  upon  the  direction  of  the  principal 
committees.  Sieyes  and  Condorcet  were  at  the 
head  of  the  committee  of  the  conilitution.  Briilbt 
and  Genfonne  governed  the  diplomatic  com- 
mittee aflbciated  with  that  of  general  fafety.  The 
committee  of  finances  was  entirely  at  the  devotion 
of  Cambon,  whom  the  Girondine  party  at  that 
time  believed  to  be  their  partizan.  And  they 
ruled  Paris  during  all  the  mayoralty  of  Pethion. 

This  faction  may  be  called  the  Jefuits  of  the  Re^ 
volution,  They  acted  on  the  fame  political  fyilem ; 
they  poflefled  at  firit  the  lame  unlimited  power  ; 
blinded,  afterwards,  in  a  like  manner,  by*pride, 
they  committed  the  fame  faults,  and  underwent 
the  fame  fate.  During  their  reign  they  contemned 
and  infulted  the  royal  family.  Pethion,  in  the 
fame  carriage  with  the  King  and  Queen,  on  their 
return  from  Varennes,  took  every  occafionto  de- 
clare that  he  no  longer  deiigned  to  iupport  the 
monarchy.  The  unfortunate  Queen  related  the 
fact  to  General  Dumourier ;  and  Pethion  after- 
wards acknowledged  it,  on  his  naming  it  to  him. 

But  in  the  month  of  November  1792,  circum- 
fiances  were  entirely  changed.  The  popularity 
of  King  Pelbion,  for  fo  he  was  called  in  Paris, 
had  funk  under  the  afcendancy  of  the  Jaco- 
bins, and  the  Marfeillois,  whom  the  Jacobins 
had  gained  by  patriotic  orgies.  A  weak  but  honeil 
K  2  man, 


man,  named  Chambon,  had  fucceeded  Pethioii 
in  .he  mayoralty.  He  was  defpifed,  and  without 
power.  The  Jacobins  tyrannized  over  the  fec- 
tions ;  and  the  commune  of  Paris  afTumed  an  au- 
thority independent  of  the  Convention  and  fre- 
quently fuperior  to  at. 

Barbaroux,  deputy  from  Marfeilles,  one  of  the 
Girondine  party,  relying  on  his  influence  in  that 
city,  undertook  to  bring  a  new  body  of  men  from 
Marfeilles ;  and,  mean  while,  the  party  employed 
Roland,  the  minirter  of  the  interior,  to  invite  the 
deparments  to  find  Federates  to  relieve  Paris  and 
the  Convention  from  the  tyranny  of  the  former 
body  of  Marfeillois.  Nothing  could  be  more  im- 
prudent than  this  meafure.  It  could  not  fail  to 
produce  a  civil  war,  unlefs  the  new  Federates, 
Ihould  ftrengthen  them  againft  their  antagonifts : 
gained  like  the  former  by  the  Jacobins,  which 
happened  in  the  fequel. 

The  intrigues  of  the  Girondifls  were  upmafked 
with  great  capacity,  by  Danton,   La  Croix,  Rober- 
fpierre,  and  Marat.     Impartial  men  in  the  Con- 
vention, faw  the   dangerous  ambition  of  the  Gi- 
rondine faction.     It  was  then  that  the  party  ought 
to  have  adopted  a  decifive  conduct  in  defending 
the  innocence  of  the  king,  and  oppoiing  the  fen- 
tence  of  death  ;  and  then,  had   they  fallen,  they 
would,  at  lead,  have  fallen  with  honour.     But  it 
it  is  moft  probable  that,    on  the  contrary,  their 
efforts  would  have  been  fuccefsful,  that  the  de- 
partments would  have  joined  them  to  fove  the  king 
and  the  country,  and  that  the  Jacobiris  would  have 
been  crumed.     But  the  Girondine  party  poffefleej 
not  the  courage  their  fituation,  demanded.     They 
contented   themfelves  with   propoling  an   inade- 
quate appeal  to  the  people  ou  the  fate  of  Louis  XVL 
And  this  was  confidered  as  holding  out  another 'fig- 
nal  of  civil  war, 

The 


The  Girondifts  were  terrified,  and  yielded  to 
the  torrent ;  but  they  did  not  fave  themfelves  by 
their  cowardice  in  voting  with  the  Jacobins  againft 
the  unfortunate  monarch,  who  thus  fell  the  victim 
of  the  united  villainy  of  implacable  monfters,  and 
ignorant  intriguers.  Pethion  had  the  bafe  cruelty, 
in  a  moment,  while  pity  yet  heiitated  to  condemn 
the  king,  to  recall  the  remembrance  of  the  vio- 
lence that  was  afcribed  to  him  on  the  unhappy 
.days  of  the  gth  and  l  oth  of  Auguft.  Having  thus 
incenfed  his  hearers  by  an  unworthy  charge,  he 
.concluded  by  voting  for  death.  The  veiled  opi- 
nion of  Condorcet,  amounted  to  the  fame  fentence. 
The  conduct  of  this  artful  fchoolrnan,  abounding 
in  fubtlety,  and  deftitute  of  feeling,  has  been 
equally  atrocious  in  every  ftage  of  the  Revolution. 

Briflbt,  Gaudet,  Genlbnne,  and  Vergniaux, 
were  even  eager  to  vote  contrary  to  their  known 
fentiments. 

The  accufation  againft  Louis  XVI.  contained 
no  article  fuiricjenty  weighty  to  fanclion  the  judg- 
ment. The  cataftrophe  of  the  loth  of  Auguft, 
was  no  crime  to  be  imputed  to  the  king.  Carra 
had  the  impudence  to  publifli  in  his  journal,  and 
declare  in  the  Convention,  that  the  event  of  that 
day  had  been  prepared  by  a  committee  of  five  per- 
fbns,  among  whom  were  Pethion,  Roberfpierre, 
and  he,  Carra  ;  that  the  committee  met  in  a  fmall 
public  houfe  in  the  Fauxbough  St.  Antoine ;  that 
the  fcheme  of  obliging  the  king  to  arm  and  oppofo 
the  people,  had  failed  twice,  and  had  even  been 
on  the  point  of  failing  on  the  loth  of  Auguft, 
Hence  it  is  clear,  had  this  paper  cf  Carra,  been 
produced  on  the  trial,  it  had '  juilified  the  king,  by 
proving  the  neeellity  of  his  taking  up  arms  in  his 
own  defence.  But  neither  juirice  nor  policy,  nor 
good  lenfc,  were  concerned  in  his  trial. 

Providence 


(     7°     ) 

Providence  feems  to  have  deftined  the  arrival 
of  this  period,  fo  difgraceful  to  France,  and  fo 
decifive  of  her  fate.  All  things  confpired  againit 
the  unfortunate  and  innocent  viclim.  Even  the 
Emigrants,  in  the  zeal  of  a  mifiaken  attachment, 
adopted  meafures  that  were  fatal  to  him.  Ber- 
trand,  ex-minifter  of  the  marine,  a  refugee  in 
England,  imagined  he  could  fave  the  kiag  by  fend- 
ing to  the  Convention  authentic  papers,  proving 
that  the  leaders  of  both  parties  had  negociated  with 
the  king  in  fecret.  Danton  and  La  Croix,  efpe- 
cially,  were  fo  directly  implicated  in  the  papers, 
that  their  credit  had  been  utterly  ruined,  if  Dan- 
ton,  mailer  of  the  mountain,  that  is  to  fay  the  Ja- 
cobin party,  and  La  Croix,  who  influenced  the 
Plain,  that  is  to  fay,  the  independent  part  of  the 
aiTembly,  had  not  united  their  efforts  to  bury  the 
memory  of  thofe  papers  with  the  ill-fated  king. 
The  zeal  of  Bertrand^inilead  of  laving  Louis, 
haftened  his  death.  jPfie  murder  was  committed. 
On  the  guilty  evening  all  the  theatres  were  full. 
Unhappy  Frenchmen!  When  you  (hall  read  this 
chapter,  bathed  with  the  tears  of  him  who  offers 
the  picture  of  the  greateft  of  your  crimes  to  your 
view,  you  {hall  tremble  for  yourfelves,  and  you 
ihall  acknowledge  the  terrible  vengeance  that 
a\va  i ts  you  t o  be  j uft. 


C  H  A  P. 


C  H  A  P.     VI." 


Fruitkfs  attempts  of  General  Dumourler  in  behalf 
of  the  King. 

XxMONG  the  abfurd  and  unjuft  accufations  of 
the  Emigrants  againil  General  Dumourier,  that 
which  has  obtained  moil  credit  with  ignorant 
and  Superficial  men  is,  that  he  did  not  avail  him- 
felf  of  the  afcendancy  which  his  victories  gave 
him  over  his  army,  to  lead  it  to  Paris,  and  libe- 
rate the  king.  But  it  is  to  be  confidered,  firfr, 
that  his  influence  with  his  army  was  always  very 
precarious,  and  events  afterwards  proved  that 
it  was  not  to  be  relied  on ;  fecondly,  that  this 
army  was  more  than  a  hundred  leagues  from  Pa- 
ris, was  in  want  of  every  neceffary  for  a  inarch, 
not  being  able  even  to  quit  the  country  of  Leige, 
without  great  hazard  of  lofing  its  artillery  for  the 
want  of  horfes ;  that  this  Hep  would  have  aban- 
doned that  country  to  the  Auilrians,  who  alib 
would  have  followed  him  ;  and  that  it  would  have 
been  a  degree  of  treachery  to  the  honour  and  in- 
tereils  of  the  French  nation,  which  would  have 
coil  the  General  and  all  his  principal  officers  their 
heads  before  they  could  even  have  entered  France; 
thirdly,  that  this  army  had  for  fome  time  been  in 
an  abiblute  incapacity  of  proceeding  even  to  the 
Rhine,  which  was  only  twenty  leagues  difhmt, 
and  confequently  could  not  accomplifli  the  longer 
inarch  to  Paris. 

General  Dumourier,  however,  ^dkl  entertain 
the  project  of  conducting,  not  the  whole  of  his 
army  to  Paris,  but  a  choien  detachment  of  troops 
of  the  line.  But  the  example  of  Fayr.tte,  taught 

him 


(     7*     ) 

him  to  regard  this  meafure  as  a  perilous  extre- 
mity ;    and  fome  legal   form  and    pretence  was 
wanting  to  give  it  colour,  and  to  preierve  to  him 
the  confidence  of  his  foldiers  in  the  execution  ©f 
it.     He  had  declared,  and  written  and   repeated 
often  to  the  leaders  of  the  Girondine  patty s  and 
efpecially  to  Barrere,  who  has  fince  occafioned 
fuch  mifchief  by  his  verfatility,  that,  if  the  con- 
vention were  overawed,  they  had  to  write    but 
four  lines  in  the  form  of  a  decree,  and  he  would 
forthwith  march   Q  0,000   men  to  their  afliflance. 
Whether  it  were  the  effect  of  timidity,  or  a  con- 
fidence   in  their   own    means  and  intrigues,  the 
members  that  were  ftill    coniidered  as  the  moft 
refpeclable  in  the  affembly  were  unwilling  to  em-, 
ploy  this  refource.     Indeed  their  views,  fuch  as 
they  have  fince  been  difcovered  to  be,  would  na- 
turally prevent  them  from  placing  much  confi- 
dence in  the  General,  whom   they  knew   to  be 
perfectly  attached  to  the   constitution  and  to  the 
re-eftablHhriient   of  order.     Seeing   no    hope   of 
fuch  a  decree  as  the  General  had  pointed  out,  and 
governed  by  the  motive^that   have  been  amply 
detailed  in  the    foregoing  chapters,  he  departed 
fingly  for  Paris  ;  but  he  had  fent   before  him,  on 
leave  of  abfence,  many  of  the  officers  command- 
ing corps,  and  other  officers,  and  foldiers,  both 
of  the  line  and  national  guards,  and  among  them 
fome  Parifians,  all   of  whom  had  prcmifed  him 
their  fervices  in  behalf  cf  the  king.      It   is  to  be 
cbferved    alfo    that    at  the    time    of    his   depar- 
ture, although  the  trial  of  Louis  XVI.   was  be- 
gun, it  could  not  be  forefeen,  eipecially  by   one 
at  the  diftance  of  an  hundred   leagues,  that  the 
iilue  would  have  been  Ib  fpeedy  and  fatal.     The 
General  well  knew  that  the   criminal  ferocity  of 
the  Jacobins  would  incite  them  to  prefs  forward 
this  hateful  and    bloody    cataftrophe    by    every 
means  within  their  reach  :    but  lie  thought  that 

the 


(     73     ) 

the  Gircndiils,  not  for  honed  reafons,  but  for 
political. reaions  and  for  their  own  fafety,  would 
ipin  out  this  affair,  and  fo  give  him  time  to  take 
meafures  for  the  refcue  of  the  king.  It  was  not 
till  his  arrival  at  Paris  that  he  knew  the  true  ilate 
of  things,  and  (aw  how  inadequate  his  refources 
were  to  the  magnitude  of  the  tafk. 

General  Ekimourier   had    been    on    terms   of 
friendship  with  Genfonne,  a   deputy   of  the  de- 
partment of  Gironde,  and  had  found  an  oppor- 
tunity of  pardoning  fome  hollile  meafures  of  that 
deputy  toward  him  the    preceding   year,    when 
Dumourier   quitted  the   miniftry.      He  had  dif- 
covered   in  Genfonne  great  capacity    and  judg- 
ment and  a  humane  dilpoiition ;  and  he  willingly 
renewed  his  connexions  with  him.      General  Du- 
mourier opened  his  mind  to  him  relative    to  the 
king.     He  exprefied  his  horror  at  the  crime  that 
v/as  about  to  itain  the  nation  ;  he  made  him  fen- 
fible  that  fuch  a  deteftable   triumph  given   to  the 
Jacobins  would  end  in  the  ruin  of  all  the   honed 
part   of  the  nation,    and  would  render   the  an- 
archy that   afTiuTted   France   incurable ;  that  fuch 
of  the  nations  of  Europe  as  had  regarded  with 
indifference  and  perhaps  with  pleaiure  our  inte- 
rior ftruggles,  our  war  with  Auiiria  and  Priillia, 
and  perhaps  were  not  unwilling   to  fee   our  i ac- 
cedes againil  thofe  two  powers,  could  not  but  be 
ihocked     at  the  barbarity   of    murdering    Louis 
XVI.    and  would    be  thenceforward  engaged  in 
honour  to  join  the   enemies  of  France,  till  we 
fhould    have    every  power   in    ^urope  againil:  us 
without  one    ally.     Thefe  reflections  feemcd  to 
make   great    impreffion    on    Genfonne ;     but  to 
whatever  caufe  it   was  owing,  he  undertook  no- 
thing, and  even  avoided  the  General,  who    had 
afterward  little  opportunity  of  feeing  him. 

Dumourier    converfed  with    ieveral    ether  de- 
puties of  the  fame  party,  as  well  as  with  many 

L  of 


(     74     ) 

of  the  independent  party  in  the  Convention,  to 
whom  he  reprefented  that,  the  nation  being  now 
a  republic,  Louis  was  to  be  treated  limply  as  an 
individual ;  that  it  was  indecent,  impolitic,  and 
unreafonable  to  wafte  time,  that  ought  to  be  em- 
ployed in  preparations  againfl  the  dangers  of  the 
enfuing  campaign  and  in  reinforcing  the  armies, 
in  the  profecution  of  the  trial  of  a  fingle  man, 
whole  fate  was  of  no  importance  to  the% nation  ; 
and  that  it  would  be  wife  at  leal!  to  iuipend  this 
ufelefs  meafure  till  after  the  war.  The  more 
reafonable  of  them  acknowledged  the  trial  to  be 
an  unjult  and  unwife  proceeding,  but  faid,  that 
the  members  of  the  Mountain  had  taken  their 
meafures,  and,  mould  the  trial  now  be  abandoned 
by  the  Convention,  the  Jacobins  would  excite  an 
infurreclipn,  fall  upon  the  temple,  and  maffacre 
the  whole  of  the  prifoners.  The  General  then 
told  them  that  he  could  not  think  they  were  fuffi- 
ciently  authorized  by  their  condiments  to  try 
the  king ;  that,  fince  they  made  an  affair  of 
confequence  of  the  trial,  it  appeared  to  him  it 
would  be  neceffary  to  their  own  fecurity  to  de- 
mand inilructions  in  precife  terms  on  the  point 
from  the  departments,  leaft  one  day  they  fhoul4 
be  reproached  for  the  deed  by  the  nation,  and 
lead  they  iliould  one  day  become  personally  ref- 
ponlible  for  the  irregularity  and  violence  of  the 
act.  They  anfwered  to  this,  that  the  imprudent 
propofal  of  appealing  to  the  people  made  by  the 
Girondine  party  had  deprived  them  of  the  re- 
fource  the  General  now  propofed ;  fince  it  was 
feared  the  convoking  of  the  primary  aflemblies 
for  fuch  infiructions  would  be  the  fignal  of  a  ci- 
vil war. 

It  then  occurred  to  the  General  to  fuggeft  an 
idea  that  feemed  to  have  great  weight  with  tliefe 
deputies,  although  in  the  end  it  failed  of  e  if  eel 
like  all  the  reft,  becaufe  every  man  feeing  a. 

poiguard 


(     75     ) 

poignard  at  his  bread,  chofe  rather   to  be  a  mur- 
derer than  a  victim.     The  idea  was,  that  a  long 
war  had  exiiled  between  the  nation  and  the  king, 
that  the  day  of  the  loth  of  Auguft  had  decided 
the  fate  of  both,  that  the  king  had   fallen  into 
their  hands,  and  could  no  longer  be  confidered 
as  any  thing  but  a  prifoner   of  war,  yet  without 
criminality,    becaufe   both   parties   had    in    like 
manner  had  recourfe  to  arms ;  that  a  foreign  war 
raged  againil  the  nation,  and  that  they  ought  to 
deem  themfelves  fortunate  in  having' a  precious 
hoftage  in  this  prifoner,  who  might  ferve  them  in 
a  cafe  of  extremity.     The  General  added,    that 
fhould  they   perfiil  in  thinking  the  king  guilty, 
they  ought  to  form  a  tribunal  authorized  to  col- 
lect facls,  to  examine  and  confront  the  witnefles, 
and  to  prepare  the  way  for  a  final  decifion,  with  a 
deliberation  due  to  the  fubjecl;  that  this    acl  of 
juftice  would  fatisfy  the  bittereft  enemies  of  roy- 
alty, would  give  the  people  time  to  reflect,  and  to 
the  Convention  an  opportunity  to  finifli  the  con- 
flitution,    which  was  the    grand   object  of   their 
million  ;  and  when  the  primary  aiTemblies  fiiould 
be  convoked  for  the   acceptance  of  the  conftitu- 
tion,  all  the  proceedings  of  the  tribunal  might 
be  laid  before  them,  and  they  be  called  upon  to 
decide  the  fate  of  the  king. 

Having  fpread  this  opinion  in  converfation 
and  even  in  writing,  the  General  faw  Pethion, 
with  whom  till  this  period  he  had  been  on  terms 
of  friendmip,  and  reprefented  to  him  that  it  be- 
came him  perfonally  to  intereft  himfelf  in  behalf 
of  Louis  XVI.  fince  otherwife,  a  malignity  of 
mind  would  be  imputed  to  him  that  certainly  was 
not  in  his  character.  Pethion  appeared  to  be 
moved  by  the  General's  reafoning;  and  declared 
that  perfonally  he  loved  the  king,  and  that  he 
would  exert  his  utmoft  influence  to  fave  him. 

L  3  GeneraJ 


(     76     ) 

General  Dumourier  then  addrefled  himfelf  i& 
Roberfpierre,  by  the  medium  of  cue  of  his 
friends.  lie  reprefenied  that  it  was  entirely  ia 
Roberfpierre's  power  to  fave  Louis  XVI.  that  the 
magnanimity  of  the  action  would  immortalize  his 
name,  and  that  in  confequence  of  it  the  generals 
of  the  army  would  look  up  to  him  as  the  fiiil  man 
in  the  ft  ate,  and  that  the  diclatorfhip  would  be  the 
reward  of  his  virtue  ;  but  that  otherwiie  he  would 
fall  into  the  fame  contempt  and  execration  as 
Marat,  with  whofe  name  that  of  Roberfpierre 
wouid  thenceforth  be  contiantly  allbciated.  This 
idea  the  General  knew  to  be  peculiarly  odious 
to  Roberfpierre. 

General  Dumourier  knew  that  the  Jacobins 
defpiied  the  Convention  and  hated  the  Giron- 
dine  party.  He  infinuated  to  them  by  iecre* 
agents,  that  if  they  wiflaed  to  become  mailers  of 
France  and  Europe,  and  to  rife  on  the  ruins  of 
the  National  Convention,  they  had  only  to  de- 
clare their  will  that  the  trial  of  Louis  [hould  be 
fufpended,  and  thai:  a  more  important  object, 
die  ilate  of  the  warr  {hould  be  taken  into  confi- 
deration. 

Drouet,,  poft-raafter  of  St.  Menehould,  who 
had  arreiled  the  king  at  Varennes,  was  a  deputy 
of  the  Convention  and  a  Jacobin.  Ihe  brother 
of  Drouet,  a  very  honefl  and  faithful  man,  was 
in  the  General's  iervice,.  and  was  greatly  attached 
to  him.  Dumourier  gave  this  man  inilruclions 
to  prepare  his  brother's  mind  for  the  iniprefEons 
ke  wifKed  it  to  receive,,  and  afterwards  to  bring 
him  to  Clichy^  The  General  painted  to  Drouet. 
the  crime  he  and  his  ailbciates  were  committing 
againll  the  king,  with  fuch  energy,  that  Drouet, 
ilruck  with  horror,  promifed  to  move  for  the 
lufpeniion  of  the  trial  both  in  the  Convention 
and  in  the  club  of  the  Jacobins.  Had  there  been 

one 


(     77     ) 

one  member  fufficiently  refolnte  to  make  the  pro- 
poiition,  the  king  had  been  laved.  No  one  had 
the  courage.  Drouet  fell  lick  and  was  not  pre- 
fent  when  the  fentence  was  palled. 

Each  day  the  General  vjiited  various  parts  of 
Paris,  went  into  the  {hops  and  houfes  of  indivi- 
duals, and  took  occaiicn  always  to  turn  the 
converiation  to  the  king's  trial.  lie  oblerved 
how  ftrange  a  circumiiance  it  feemed  that  the 
Convention  Ihculd  fuddenly  become  a  tribunal  ; 
that  if  Louis  were  ftill  king,  the  nation  ought  to 
decide  by  whom  and  with  what  forms  he  ihould 
be  judged  ;  that  if  he  were  no  longer  king,  it 
was  unfit  that  time  fo  precious  to  the  nation, 
ihould  be  loll  in  enquiring  into  the  guilt  of  an 
individual.  And  to  thefe  confederations  he  added 
reflections  on  the  mild  virtues  and  misfortunes  of 
Louis  XVI.  Sometimes  he  was  lillened  to  with 
eagernefs  and  pity;  but  frequently,  he  was  re- 
quelled  to  forbear  fpeaking  of  fo  dangerous  a  to- 
pic ;  and  fometimes  condemned  for  introducing 
it.  At  times,  he  expoled  himfelf  to  ferious  dan- 
ger, by  expreiiing  his  furprize,  that  in  a  great 
city  like  Paris,  there  ihouid  not  be  five  or  lix 
thoufand  men  with  courage  fufficient  to  rife  a- 
gainft  two  or  three  thoufand  villains,  who  calling 
theiiifelves  Federates,  held  the  city  in  ablblute 
iabjection.  A  well  informed  trade fm an,  calling 
down  his  eyes  and  blufhing  with  iliame,  made 
this  anfwer  one  day  to  the  general :  Citizen,  I  fee 
'what  you  would  have  us  to  do.  But  we  arc  cow- 
ards and  the  king  will  be  facrifced.  What  do  you 
hope  from  a  city  that,  having  80,000  armed  r,ien, 
Juffered  itjclf  to  Ic  intimidated  on  the  firjl  days  cf 
September,  by  lefs  than  6000  Marfeliois  and  Bre- 
tons ?  I'he  general  left  the  man's  houfe,  and  re- 
tired to  an  unfrequented  part  of  a  public  walk, 
to  indulge  in  his  melancholy  reile-ftions. 

Thole 


(     78     ) 

Thofe  foldierd  of  his  army  that  he  met  witbr 
from  time  to  time,  feemecl  to  be  devoted  to  re- 
velling, and  to  be  wholly  infected  with  the 
phrenzy  of  the  Federates;  and  feme  even  join* 
ed  the  party  of  his  enemies,  rilling  the  different 
clubs  and  meetings  of  the  factions  with  ablurd 
accufations  againil  him. 

From  all  thefe  attempts  to  ferve  the  king, 
which  the  general  renewed  every  day  in  various 
forms  and  difguifes,  and  with  much  rifk  to  his 
own  perfcn,  he  reaped  nothing  but  the  dreadful 
certainty  of  the  king's  ruin.  Paris  i'eemed  in- 
different on  the  iitbjecl.  During  the  twenty  days 
previous  to  the  death  of  the  king,  that  he  itudied 
the  temper  of  that  city,  he  perceived  not  the 
fmalleft  commiferaticn,  neither  amcrg  indivi- 
duals nor  in  the  public,  in  behalf  of  the  unfor- 
tunate Louis.  Nor  indeed  any  abftinence  from 
their  amufements  in  the  frivolous  and  favage  Pa- 


C  II  A  P.     YIIV 

Death  of  tic  King. 


ALTHOUGH  General  Dumourier's  conftitu- 
tion  was  rebuff,  his  health  yielded  for  a  while  to 
the  acute  vexations  of  his  mind.  On  the  i8th 
of  January,  he  fell  fick  and  was  confined  at  his 
houfe  at  Clichy,  till  the  22d.  He  now  refolved 
to  quit  Paris  in  a  few  days;  and  never  to  enter  it 
more  till  he  ihould  come  to  difperfe  that,  un- 

worthy 


(     79     ) 

worthy  affembly,  who  were  bale  and  wicked 
enough,  wantonly,  precipitately,  and  without 
proof,  to  condemn  to  death  an  innocent  king, 
who  had  ever  loved  his  people,  whole  faults  were 
not  his  own,  who  had  ba mined  ^e  torture  from 
criminal  trials,  who  readily  adopted  every  pro- 
pofal  for  the  public  benefit,  and  had  hiinfelf  in- 
vited the  nation  to  remedy  all  abufes  and  to  pro- 
vide for  its  happinefs.  Kings  are  fubject  in  com- 
mon to  many  of  the  caufes  by  which  Louis  XVI. 
was  reduced  to  this  unhappy  condition  ;  they  are 
beiieged  and  betrayed  ;  they  are  kept  in  ignorance 
and  fee  nothing  as  it  really  exills ;  nor  have  they 
power  to  quit  the  circle  in  which  they  are  placed', 
in  fearch  of  the  virtuous  man  whofe  pure  dignity 
fhuns  the  corruption  and  iniolence  of  courts. — - 
But  it  mu ft  have  been  the  completed  diforder 
that  could  hurry  a  whole  nation  to  the  murder  of 
their  king,  after  having  often  blefled  and  adored 
him;  and  having  compared  him  to  Louis  XII. 
Henry  IV.  and  all  the  beft  and  moil  beloved  of 
their  monarchs.  The  club  of  Jacobins  con- 
dueled  the  French  to  this  pitch  of  folly  and  wick- 
ed nefs. 

The  21  ft  of  January,  the  day  of  the  death  of 
Louis  XVI.  is  the  true  epoch  of  the  ruin  of  the 
Republic,  of  the  relic-ration  of  the  monarchy,  and 
it  may  be  feared  of  the  triumph  of  defpotifrn. 
The  French  nation  began  the  career  of  liberty 
glorioufly.  Their  firf}  exceffes  were  pardonable, 
as  they  refulted  from  the  obitinacy  of  the  abufes  it 
was  neceflary  to  deiiroy,  A  noble  conftituticn, 
although  in  forne  degree  it  was  imperfect,  feemed 
to  fecure  the  happinefs  of  France.  General  Du- 
mourier's  journeys  into  England,  Germany,  Swit- 
zerland, and  Italy,  at  that  period,  convinced  him 
of  the  general  approbation  it  obtained.  But  the 
king,  {educed  by  his  perfidious  counfeliors,  at-, 
tempted  to  elcape  from  his  ppople,  after  having 

fworn 


fworn  to  maintain  the  conftitution.  He  was  dif- 
covered  and  taken.  The  National  Ailembly  of 
France  acted  as  became  a  great  nation.  They  re- 
flored  the  king  to  his  rights  ;  and  from  that  inflant 
the  king  ceafed  to  be  dairgerous  to  the  liberties 
of  the  people.  He  was  governed  faithfully  by 
the  principles  of  the  conftitution.  They  were 
engraven  on  his  heart.  And  if  his  minifters  or 
his  courtiers  flill  fought  to  violate  the  law,  the 
conftitution  had  provided  a  remedy  for-the  evil. 
The  agents  of  the  executive  power  were  refpon- 
fible  with  their  lives  for  mifconduct  in  the  govern- 
ment, but  an  abfolute  inviolability  was  attached 
to  the  perfon  of  the  king.  The  third  legifiature 
of  France  however,  tended  vilibly  to  Republic- 
anifm  ;  they  were  bent  on  the  overthrow  of  the 
conftitution.  It  was  necefiary  to  raiie  new  accu- 
fat  ions  again  ft  the  king  for  his  -deftruclion  ;  and 
to  this  objecl  the  Girondine  faction  proceeded 
with  the  moil:  refined  perfidy,  while  the  Jacobins 
openly  acled  in  the  fame  caufe  wiih  a  wild  and 
brutal  infolence.  Carra  and  the  journaMs  of  the 
Jacobins  have'  placed  this  fubject  in  the  clearer! 
light,  in  tracing  the  intrigues  which  engendered 
the  catailrophe  of  the  loth  of  Auguil. 

The  aiiair  of  the  2  ill  of  June,  was  a  prelude 
to  that  catailrophe,  although  direclly  it  produced 
nothing  more  than  a  difgulling  infultto  the  nation 
and  the  coniiitution,  in  the  unfortunate  perfon  of 
tlie  king.  The  ferocious  Santerre  was  heard  to 
fay  on  that  day,  We  have  failed,  noiv,  but  we  -:r/7/ 
return  a^aln.  The  National  Convention  neither 
puniihed  nor  relented  the  infult.  On  the  con- 
trary, the  t\vo  faclions,  which  nctwithfianding 
their  mutual  hatred  had  many  wicked  objects  in 
common,  were  preparing  for  the  execution  ot  a 
greater  plot;  and  had  aifembled  the  Marfellois 
and  Bretons  from  the  extremities  of  the  kingdom, 
to  infure  iucceis, 

Thefe 


(     81     ) 

Thefe  were'  the  true  caufes  of  the  bloody  and 
decifive  loth  of  Auguft.  The  miniiters  and  ge- 
nerals, it  is  true,  took  meafures,  on  their  part, 
againft  the  aiTembly,  and  the  Jacobins ;  fuppofing 
however,  that  they  were  culpable,  the  law  was 
armed  again  it  them,  but  ought  to  have  had  no  ope- 
ration on  the  king,  who  was  both  innocent  and 
inviolable,  and  who  was  to  be  considered  merely 
as  the  occafion  and  not  as  the  author  of  die  licps* 
taken  in  his  nane.  The  nation  was  convinced  of 
this  truth;  and  if  Louis  had  been  firm  he  had  not 
fallen.  His  aiiailms  bafely  puniChed  the  mildnefs 
of  his  chnracler  with  death  ;  and  the  mildnefs  of 
his  character  iliould  have  pleaded  for  mercy. 

But  this  good  and  weak  monarch  found  in  his 
religious  principles,  a  fti'ength  that  bore  him  he- 
roically through  his  martyrdom.  The  particulars 
of  his  death  are  preferved,  and  are  ineftirnable 
aids  in  the  ftudy  of  the  human  heart.  They  add 
new  aggravations  to  the  crimes  of  the  Pariiians. 
An  innumerable  crowd  attended  the  execution. 
Barbarous  joy,  or  an  unfeeling  carioiity,  were  the 
only  impreilions  that  appeared  in  the  guilty  fpec- 
tators.  No  one  had  th.e  courage  to  med  a  tear  ; 
and  it  will  fcarcely  be  believed,  that  the  domef- 
tics  of  the  good  king  preiTed  neareft  to  the  fcaf- 
fold,  and  were  the  moll  implacable  of  the  multi- 
tude. 

On  arriving  at  Paris,  on  the  22d,  General  Du* 
mourier  went  to  the  hou£e  6f  Garat,  miniiter  of 
juilice,  who  feemed  to  be  extremely  aflecied  by 
the  death  of  the  king,  but  more  efpecially  by  the 
duty  that  had  been  impofed  on  him,  and  the  other 
minifters,  of  reading  the  fentence  to  the  king. 
The  unfortunate  Louis  during  the  iblemn  office, 
remained  (landing,  and  aiTumed  a  tranquil  and  ma- 
jeftic  countenance,  without  offering  remonilrance 
or  complaint.  He  laid  only,  that  it  was  not  juft 
to  charge  him  with  treafon,  iince  his  intentions 

M  had 


(     6*     ) 

bad  always  been  pure,  and  fifke  he  had  conflantly 
deiired  the  welfare  of  his  fellow-citizens.     After, 
requeuing  a  little  time  to  prepare  for  his  death,  he 
clifmiiTed  the  rnimflers  with  an  air  cf  dignity  and 
£v:idenefs,    the  remembrance    of  which  affected 
Garat  very  much  in  fpeakifig  of  it.     General  Du- 
mourier,  Cabanis  the  friend  and  phyikian  of  Mi- 
rabeau,  and  the  mmifter,  were  mutually  affected. 
They  read  over  the  will  of  this  unfortunate  prince. 
It  had  been   written  with  his  own   hand,  in  feme 
places   there    were  erafures,  but  the  writing  was/ 
clear,   and  without   any   marks   of  being  w^ftten 
with  agitation.    It  contained  four  pages  written  on 
letter  paper.      The'   firil:   was  ccnfecrated  to  reli- 
gion, and  the  homage  was  juft ;  iince,  in  that  prin- 
ciple, he  found  courage,  iupport  and  ccnfolation. 
The  three  other  pages  exhibited    an   example   of 
magnanimity,  reafon,  and  philoiophy.    This  will, 
imce  published  to  the  world,  is  one  of  the  nobleft 
writings  that  the  mind  ever  produced  under  fuffer- 
ing  circumfforices.     The  moniiers  of  the' National 
Convention  have  fa-id,    that  this-   writing  juftitied 
the   king's  fentence; .  becaufeT   having  no  object 
in  common  with  the  world,    on   the    point  of  be- 
coming the  victim  of  the   ingratitude   of  his  ilih— 
jecls,  he  had  employed  in  two  or  three  places  the 
language  of  royalty,   and  difdainecl  to   flatter  their 
prejudices. 

During  the  exiileuce  of  n  monarchy  of  fourteen 
hundred  years  the  French  have  aflaMlnated  many  of 
their  kings.  But  the  deed  was  always  the  crime 
of  an  individual ;  the  rage  of  the  nation  againft 
the  perpetrator  was  extreme ;  and  the  villain  was 
punifhed  with  the  molt  horrible  tortures.  It  was 
referred  to  an  enlightened  and  philoiophical  age  to 
produce  ^  like  crime,  committed  in  the  name  of 
the  whole  French  nation,  approved  by  the  majo- 
rity, and  regarded  as  an  act  of  Heroifm, 

Is 


Is  the  continuance  and  pro fperity  of  a  republic, 
founded  on  fuch  guile,  foberiy  to  be  expected?— 
certainly  not.  The  monfters  have  killed  Louis 
XVI.  but  they  have  reftoretl  royalty.  This  incon- 
fiderate  and  .changeable  nation,  always  running  to 
the  extremes  of  paiYiori,  will  herfelf  maffacre  her 
iniquitous  judges  and  her  furious  Jacobins,  and  run 
to  adore  new  kings.  The  efforts  for  a  reafonable 
liberty  that  have  been  made  during  three  years  by 
true  Patriots  will  be  loft;  and  France  will  prefent 
the  picture  of  a  monarchy  crowded  with  drfg  races 
tmd  crimes,  diimembercd  and  ruined,  in  which  a 
rigid  defpotifm  mufl  long  combat  a  detlructive 
anarchy  before  the  reign  of  the  laws  can  be  re- 
ilored  :  and  then  it  {hall  not  be  the  laws  of  the 
people.  The  -whole  of  this  generation,  even  thofe 
that  are  but  newly  born,  {hall  endure  the  puniih- 
ment  of  the  atrocious  crimes  of  four  years  :  crimes 
that  poiienty  will  fcarcely  be  periuaded  to  credit. 


C  H  A  P.     VIIL 

General  Dumouner  s  Conference  with  Cam&on. 


li  A  V  ING  particularly  traced  the  tranfaclion? 
that  moil  aftecled  General  Durnourier  in  a  cata- 
(Irophe  that  he  could  neither  prevent  nor  fore- 
fee,  it  will  be  necellary  to  purlue  the  account  of 
his  other  occupations  in  Paris  during  this  unhappy 
month  of  January.  An  eileaticil  object  of  his 
journey  \vas  to  obtain  tJKe  fupprefiion  of*  the  decree 
of  the  i^t-h  of  December,  or  at  lead  a  tacit  agree- 
ment from  the  Convention,  that  it  fhould  not  be 
put  in  execution  in  Brabant.  Fie  demonfirated  to 
M  2  the 


(     84     ) 

the  Convention  that  the  people  of  Brabant  were 
wholly  alienated  from  the  French;  than  an  open 
rebellion  was  to  be  feared  if  the  decree  fhould  be 
executed ;  that  on  the  appearance  of  the  Auflrians 
in  force  the  Fre-ncb  wouid  have  an  additional  ene- 
my in  the  Belgians,  who  might  eafily  attack  their 
weakened  garrifons,  cut  off  their  proviiions  and 
Tender  their  retreat  impodible.  The  Convention 
were  too  prefumptuous,  and  too  much  taken  up 
with  the  king's  trial  to  attend  to  thefe  remcn- 
ilrances. 

One  individual  of  the  Convention  controlled 
the  department  of  the  finances  with-the  moil:  abfo- 
lute  fway.  This  was  Cambon  a  man  of  a  moil:  ii> 
regular  mind;  ignorant  and  deftitute  of  found 
principles,  yet  fcheming  and  unrelenting  in  his 
projects,  D'Efpagnac  had  been  arrefted  on  the 
22d  of  November,  along  with  Maius,  for  fulfilling 
an  engagement  that  they  had  made  with  S.ervan 
Tefpecting  carriages  for  the  army,  and  which  was 
very  important  to  the  nation.  He  was  ftill  a  pri- 
foner  at  Paris;  but  at  liberty  to  go  about  with  a 
guard.  He  poiTefied  a  mind  abounding  in  reiour- 
ces.  He  had  gained  the  confidence  of  Cambon  en 
all  the  fubjects  of  finance,  and  offered  to  procure 
the  General  a  conference  with  this  dictator  of  the 
national  treafury  ;  the  General  confented  and  they 
went  to  breakfaft  with  Cambon--  This  man  bcaii- 
ed  of  having  obtained  and  fupported  the  decree  of 
the  15th  of  December.  His  reafons  for  the  project 
he  faid  were  that  the  treafury  was  empty  ;  that 
France  had  fix  hundred  thoufand  troops  on  foot, 
and  paid  two  hundred  million  oflivres  per  month 
for  the  expences  of  the  war.  The  General  obferv- 
ed  that  fix  hundred  thoufand  men  ought  not  to 
coll  two  hundred  millions  per  month,  and  that  the 
armies  of  France  did  not  amount  to  more  than 
three  hundred  thoufand  effective  men.  Cambon 
anfwered,  that  the  national  guards  of  alj  the  fron- 
tier 


tier  cities  received  the  fame  pay   as  the  army,  as 
well  as  part   of  the  national   guards  of  Paris;  he 
declared  he  law  no  other  relburce,  than  the  exe- 
cution of  the  decree,  for  carrying  on  the  war  ;  that 
fpecie  already  coll  the  nation   fifty  per  cent,  and 
that  foon  it  would  not  be  procured  even  at  cent, 
per  cent.  ;  that  he  had  but  one  remedy  againft  this 
evil,   which  was  to  feize  on  all  the  ipecie  in  Bel- 
gia,  and  the  iiiver  in  the  churches  and  banks.   He 
acknowledged  this  to  be  unjuiT,  but  he  thought  it 
unavoidable ;     lie    laid,    that  when  the  Belgians 
fliould  be  ruined  and  reduced  to  the  fame  diitrefs 
as  the  French,  they  would  neceffarily  unite  their 
fate  with  that  of  France,  as  the  people  of  Liege 
had  doner  who  threw  themfelves  into  our  arms, 
being  poor   and    involved   in  debt.      He    added, 
that  then   France  would    admit  the  Belgians   as 
members  of  the  Republic,  and  with  the  lame  po- 
licy they  might  h^pe  to  proceed  conquering  peo- 
ple after  people  ;•  that  the  decree   of  the  15th  of 
December  was  well  calculated  for  this  purpofe, 
becaufe  it  tended  to  cli ["organize  the  neighbouring 
ftates,  that  being  the  moil   fortunate  thing  that 
could  be  done  for  France. 

The  General  objected  that,  beiide  the  barbarity 
of  the  project,  it  was  impracticable ;  that  we 
were  now  in  the  middle  of  the  month  of  January  ; 
that  our  armies  were  weakened  ;  that  no  one 
thought  of  the  means  of  recruiting  them  ;  nor  of 
the  plan  of  the  enfuing  campaign,  although  on  the 
eve  of  being  opened;  that  the  people  of  Belgium 
were  entirely  averfe  to  the  cliforganizing  prin- 
ciples of  our  Revolution  ;  that  we  had  neither 
time  before  us  to  remove  what  he  (Cambon)  call- 
ed their  prejudices,  nor  to  crudi  them  ;  that  in 
the  beginning  of  the  approaching  March,  the 
enemy  would  attack  the  French  polls  upon  the 
Meufe,  which  were  too  diflant  from  each  other, 
and  not  fufftciently  llrong;  that,  mailers  of  the 


(    86     ) 

paiTage  of  Maefbricht,  they  would  penetrate  the 
centre  of  the  French  line ;  that  the  Belgians, 
finding  a  power  to  protect  them,  would  take  up 
arms  every  where  at  once,  arid  would  put  to  the 
fvvord  the  garrifons  in  the  interior  part  of  Belgium, 
compoled  of  feeble  battalions  of  new  levies  ; 
that,  occupying  the*  pods  behind  the  French, 
they  would  not  only  cut  of  the  proviiions  of  the 
army,  but  its  retreat  ;  that  in  this  iiluaticn  the 
army  could  not  gain  France,  but  would  be  en- 
tirely ruined,  and  thus  all  would  be  loft  to  the 
Republic.  General  Dumourier  reprefented,  more- 
over, that  theie  odious  robberies  would  not  pro- 
duce as  much  to  France  as  would  a  juft  conduct 
toward  the  Belgians ;  that  it  would  be  more  pru- 
dent to  borrow  part  of  the  treafures  of  the  clergy, 
and  fo  to  interelt  them  in  our  ihccefs,  than  to 
feize  upon  the  whole  by  violence ;  that,  as  to 
fpecie,  there  would  be  no  neceflity  for  fending 
any  from  France  into  Belgium,  where  it  was  in 
abundance  ;  that  the  true  means  of  putting  it  in 
circulation,  and  at  length  to  replace  it  by  afiig- 
nats,  was  to  engage  the  rich  merchants  of  Ant- 
werp, BrulTels,  and  Ghent,  in  the  furnifhing  of 
proviiions,  clothing,  and  ail  the  neceiTaries  for 
the  war  ;  that,  in  this  way,  the  fupply  of  every 
thing  would  be  fecured,  and  the  eypences  re- 
duced to  one  half;  that  the  contractors  would  re- 
ceive afiignats  in  payment,  and  would  be  com- 
pelled by  their  own  intereft  to  give  them  curren- 
cy. The  General  obferved  that  the  Convention, 
by  annulling  the  decree  of  the  i^th  of  December, 
would  effectually  free  the  Belgians,  whom  they 
had  reduced  to  a  Haver y  more  revolting  than  their 
former  fervitude  ;  that  in  this  cafe  the  Belgians 
would  form  a  free  conliitution,  raife  troops,  and 
ioin  our  arms;  that  this  fraternity  of  arms  and 
mutual  fervices  would  induce  them,  more  effec- 
tually than  any  other  means,  to  demand  at  leall  a 

permanent 


(     87     ) 

permanent  aliianoe   with  the  Republic,  if  not  an 
.entire  union. 

Cambon  ieemed  inclined  to  yield,  especially 
when  the  general  promifed  him  that,  ihould  theie 
juit,  moderate  and  wife  means  be  adopted,  he 
would  not  only  forbear  longer  to  demand  any 
thing  for  his  army,  which  the  reiources  of  Bel- 
gium could  provide  for  in  abundance,  but  that  he 
would  procure  the  French  treaiury  ieveral  mil- 
lions by  way  of  loan.  He  well  knew  that  the 
Belgians,  to  withdraw  themfelvcs  from  their  pre- 
fent  ruinous  ilavery,  would  fulfil  the  promifes 
which  he  now  made  in  their  name. 

After  this  firft  conference,  Cam  boa  went  to  the 
Convention,  and,  in  the  heat  of  the  debate,  faid 
in  the  tribune,  that  if  the  decree  of  the  i^th  of 
December  was  not  executed,  it  would  be  becaufe 
Durnourier  had  oppofed  it  by  the  prerogative  of 
his  Veto.  Notwithftanding  this  dark  treachery, 
in  which,  to  render  General  Durnourier  odious, 
Cambon  aflimilated  Him  with  the  king,  whofe  trial 
was  then  profecuting  with  bitternefs,  the  General 
confented  to  have  another  interview  with  him, 
and  even  invited  him  to  dinner,  together  with  a 
deputy  named  Ducos. 

The  feconcl  conference,  which  laded  more  than 
fix  hours,  was  not  carried  on  with  much  tenv- 
per.  General  Dumourier-having  faid  that  if  Cam- 
bon was  refolved  upon  opprefling  the  Belgians, 
he  might  feek  another  General,  iince  Dumourier 
never  would  Content  to  become  an  Alii! a  to  a  peo- 
ple who  had  received  the  French  as  friends  and 
brethren  ;  Cambon  took  an  opportunity  to  tell  the 
Convention  that  nothing  could  be  more  indecent 
than  to  hear  a  General  threatening  to  reiign  in 
confequence  of  every  decree  that  was  paft  con- 
trary to  his  opinion  ;  that  the  Republic  muft  not 
reft'  upon  one  man,  and  that  they  ought  either  to 
impoie  filence  on  the  General,  or  to  puniih  him. 

In 


C     88     ) 

In  this  fruitlefs  manner  terminated  the  General's 
conferences  with  Cambon,  whom  he  expreflly 
warned  againil  the  events  that  have  fince  hap- 
pened. 

It  was  not  without  reafon,  Cambon  had  faid, 
that  he  was  devoid  of  refources  for  the  war.  In 
January,  there  was  no  more  in  the  national  trea- 
fury  than  an  hundred  and  ninety-two  millions  of 
livres  in  aflignats,  and  from  fifteen  to  twenty  mil- 
lions of  livres  in  fpecie.  Thefe  fums  were  not 
fufficient  for  the  army  till  the  month  of  April, 
and  the  whole  prefumed  value  of  the  lauds  of  the 
clergy  was  already  confirmed  by  the  emifiicn  of 
aflignats  on  that  fund. 

Dumcurier  acquired  this  knowledge  in  the 
fecond  fitting  of  the  committee  of  general  fafe- 
ty.  As  it  was  then  refolved  to  augment  the  ar- 
'my  to  three  hundred  and  fcventy  thoufand  men, 
he  reprefented  to  the  committee,  that  the  de- 
cree for  that  purpofe  would  be  ufelefs,  as  was  the 
cafe  with  others  of  the  fame  kind  the  preceding 
year,  if  the  minifler  of  war  did  not  at  the  fame 
time  prefent  a  ftatement  of  the  iumsneceliary  for 
each  particular  article  belonging  to  the  augmenta- 
tion, fuch  as  clothing,  arm?,  horfes,  &c.  and  if 
the  Convention  did  not  place  thefe  fums  at  the  im- 
mediate difpofition  of  the  minifter  of  war.  Cam- 
bon, who  ailifted  at  the  fitting,  acknowledged  the 
truth  of  the  General's  obfervation,  but  Rated  the 
poverty  of  the  treafury*  and  faid  he  kn.e\v  not  on 
what  fund  to  ifiue  new  aflignats,  fince  the  only  re- 
fource  that  remained  was  the  national  forefis,  and 
the  eilates  of  the  emigrants.  Inilantly,  the  vio- 
lent part  of  the  committee  cried  out,  they  had 
nothing  to  do  but  to  fell  thofe  eflates  forthwith. 
Difputes  fucceeding,  the  General  requeued  leave 
to  give  his  opinion. 

He  defired  the  committee  to  confider  that  the 
lands  of  the  clergy  had  fold  exceedingly  ill ;  that 

a  part 


a  part'  frill  remained  unfold,  the  general  appre- 
heniion  being  fuch  that  there  were  no  buyers ; 
that,  if  under  thefe  circumftances,  they  fhould 
order  the  fale  of  the  eftates  of  the  emigrants,  va- 
lued at  more  than  twelve  hundred  millions  of 
livres,  this  great  addition  to  the  lands  on  iale 
would  ftill  further  diminifli  the  value  of  the  whole, 
and  complete  the  ruin  of  the  nation ;  that  the  diff- 
ered it  of  alTignats  recently  iiiued  would  be  (till  in- 
crealed  by  this  fatal  operation  ;  iince  the  public, 
judging  by  the  price  of  the  lands,  would  doubt  the 
fiuTiciency  of  the  funds  on  which  the  ailignatsweie 
grounded;  for,  fuppoiing  they  fhould  hazard  the 
emiflion  of  twelve  hundred  millions  on  the  eflates 
of  the  emigrants,  as  fome  members  had  propofed, 
either  they  would  not  find  purchafers,  or  the  pro- 
duce of  the'fale  would  not  amount  to  the  third  of  the 
enormous  fum  ;  that  then  the  (late  would  lole  the 
other  two  thirds  of  that  fum,  and  would  be  me- 
naced with  inevitable  bankruptcy. 

As  to  the  national  forefts,  he  reprefented  that 
wood  was  already  very  fcarce  in  France,  and,  if 
they  alienated  thefe  forefts,  the  purchafers  would 
cut  down  the  whole  ;  that,  befides  the  enormous 
confirmation  of  wood  for  articles  of  every  kind, 
France  had  not  a  fufficient  quantity  of  coal  for  fir- 
ing ;  and  that,  independent  of  this  inconvenience, 
which  France  would  feel  for  more  than  a  century, 
this  refource  would  not  produce,  at  the  utmoir, 
more  than  two  or  three  hundred  mill  ions  of  livres, 
although  it  flood  valued  at  eight  hundred  mil- 
lions. 

The  weight  of  thefe  confiderations  was  acknow- 
ledged, and  it  was  agreed   to   leave  thefe  two  ob- 
*jeds  untouched;  and  thus,  General  Dumourier 
Hived  the  eftates   of  the  emigrants  for  that  time  : 
but,  neither  this  fervice,  nor  many  others  General 
Dumourier    has    rendered   the    emigrants,   could 
ever  obtain  him  jufrice  or  candour  on  their  part. 
N 


(     9°     ) 

The  committee  refolved  upon  propofmg  to  the 
Convention  the  ifluing  of  iix*  hundred  millions 
of  iivres  in  ailignats,  on  the  grois  fund  of  all  the 
national  lands,  without  appropriating  any  Ipecific 
part  for  the  fecurity. 

This  mode  of  iivuing  paper  on  vague  funds  is 
a  dangerous  praclice  in  finance,  and  it  was  this 
kind  of  abufe  of  confidence  which  ruined  Law's 
fyitem  in  1720.  However,  the  committee  had  as 
yet  kept  it  within  bounds.  It  has  fmce  been  car- 
ried to  twelve  hundred  millions  of  Iivres.  This 
is  a  fmooth  defcent  that  leads  to  bankruptcy  ;  but 
bankruptcy  is  the  la  It  refource  of  Cambon.  He 
has  himfelf  faid  that  it  is  inevitable.  As  to  the 
Convention  they  are  not  employed  in  confiderati- 
ons  fo  profound.  They  have  no  object  but  to 
exiit  from  day  to  day,  without  the  trouble  of  in- 
quiring what  will  be  the  refult.  In  fuch  hands 
is  the  richeit  kingdom  in  the  univerfe* 


A  P.     fX. 


Interview  of  General  Dumourier  ivith  Jome 
cobins. 


had  been  a  member  of  the  fo- 
ciety  of  Jacobins  in  the  early  part  of  its  career  ; 
but,,  at  that  period,  neither  Marat,  Camille  Def- 
mculiiiSy  Bazire^  Merlin,  Chabot,  nor  Bourdon, 
.were  known  in  the  fociety,  nor  the  relt  of  that 
liii:  ;;f  conternptible  characters,  afterward  chofen, 
t-o.  the  furprife  of  all  juft  men,  to  form  the  molt 
?i'fr.ociou3  alTembly  in  the  univerfe.  The  Gene- 
ral never  attended  their  meetings  very  afliduoufly; 

although 


although  the  adventure  of  the  red  cap,  which  he 
was  obliged  to  put  on  when  he  went  to  the  Jacobin 
fociety  on  his  being  made  minifter,  might  beget 
an  opinion  that  he  was  a  zealous  partizan  of  the 
feel. 

The  following  is  the  hiftory  of  the  faci.  Du-* 
mourier  told  the  King,  that  he  imagined  it  would 
be  ufeful  to  the  King's  perfonal  intereft,  but  ef- 
pecially  to  the  public  concerns,  for  the  new  mi- 
nifters,  named  by  him  on  the  ^recommendation 
of  the  people,  and  who  were  members  of  the 
Jacobin  fociety,  to  prefent  themfelves  to  the 
ibciety,  leit  they  mould  now  be  fufpected  cf 
joining  the  ariftocracy ;  and  he  propofed  to  at- 
tend the  fitting  of  that  evening  himfeif.  The 
King  perceived  the  importance  of  the  men  lure, 
and  approved  of  Dumourier's  deiign.  •  Some 
days  previous  to  that,  the  factions  had  adopted 
the  red  cap  for  the  emblem  of  liberty.  Du- 
mourier,  and  the  Girondine  party,  who  had 
hitherto  profeiled  to  be  the  friends  of  order,  and 
who,  indeed,  cannot  be  reproached  with  having 
flattered  the  Jacobins  at  any  period,  convinced 
Pethion,  then  mayor  of  Paris,  then  beloved  by 
the  Jacobins,  then  all-powerful,  that  this  badge 
aflumed  by  the  people,  might  be  productive  of 
the  greatelt  diforders,  if  not  of  the  horrors  at- 
tending the  contefl  of  the  white  and  red  roles  m 
England,  and  that  of  the  times  cf  the  hoods  in 
King  John's  reign  at  Paris.  Pethion,  at  that  pe- 
riod, poflefied  an  abfolute  afcendency  ever  KoT 
beripierre  and  the  Jacobins  ;  and  promifed  that 
he  would  write  a  note  to  them  on  the  fubjecl, 
and  that  the  red  cap  ihould  be  luppreiled.  'Ihe 
day  on  which  Pethion  was  to  write  was  the 
fame  that  Durnourier  had  chofeii  for  paying  his 
refpecls  to  the  Jacobins.  The  letter  was  indeed 
written,  bat  hacj  not  arrived  when  Dumourier 
entered  the  hall  of  the  ailembly.  All  the  mem- 
N  2  ber§ 


(     92      ) 

bers  had  red  caps  on  their  heads,  and  a  cap 
offered  to  Dumourier  as  he  was  rn Quoting  the 
tribune.  He  was  compelled  to  put  it  on,  or  im- 
prudently to  fubject  himfelf  to  very  great  rifts. — * 
Dmnourier  fa  id  little  in  the  tribune.  Having 
allured  them  that,  when  war  fliould  be  declared, 
he  would  quit  his  pen  to  ferve  them  with  his 
fword,  he  left  the  hall.  He  was  fcarcely  gone, 
when  Pethion's  letter  was  announced  and  ready 
and  produced  the  deiired  effect,  in  baniihing  the 
caps  from  the  affembly ;  fo  that  half  an  hcur 
would  have  faved  the  minifter  this  difgrace.  The 
public,  milled  by  falfe  royaliiis,  that  is  to  fay,  by 
the  anti-conftitutional  party,  have  misjudged  this 
facl,  which  was  but  a  mere  accident. 

At  the  time  of  Dumourier's  quitting  the  admi- 
niilration,  the  Jacobins  were  become  his  bitterer! 
enemies.  The  General's  fuccels  in  Champagne, 
had  reitored  him  a  little  to  their  favour,  in  ipite 
of  Marat's  accufations ;  and  he  appeared  at  the 
club,  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  en  his  being  at 
Pans,  in  October  1792.  But  he  never  held  any 
correfpondence  with  the  fociety,  nor  with  any 
one  of  its  members. 

Haflenfratz,  Andouin,  and  the  other  clerks  of 
the  war-office,  were  never  abfent  from  the  meet- 
ings of  the  Jacobins.  They  multiplied  accufati- 
ons agamil  the  General ;  and  often  demanded 
that  he  fhould  be  compelled  to  appear  at  the  bar 
tn  anfwer  their  charges.  But  in  the  midil  of  thefe 
intrigues,  the  Jacobins  were  deiirous  of  attach-' 
ing  the  General  to  their  party.  The  majority 
nfually  oppofed  his  enemies;  and.  when  HafTen- 
fratz  produced  his  grand  accufation  refpecting  the 
embezzlement  of  two  hundred  thouiand  -livres, 
together  with  the  papers  to  fubilantiate  the  charge, 
the  fociety  filenced  him,  and  palled  to  the  order 
of  the  day. 

The 


(     93     ) 

/ 

The  Jacobins  even    employed  feveral  of  their 
emiilaries,  to  induce  the  General  to    attend  their 
fittings.      Anacharfis  Clootz,  uied  various  arts  to 
that  end  ;  but  the  General    always  excufed  him- 
feif,  on  the  ground  that  he  could  not  appear  at 
the  iociety  till  he  had  offered  his  homage    to  the 
Convention.     Doclor  SeyfFer  made    attempts   of 
the  fame  nature ;  as  well  as  Proli,  an  adventurer 
of  BruiTels,  who    was    defirous    of    procuring    at 
leaf!  an  interview  between  the  General  and  one 
Desfieux,  a   celebrated  Jacobin,  and  one   of  the. 
moil  active  itinerants   of  the   fed,  who,  arriving 
at   Bourdeaux,    found  means  of    difgracing    the 
members    of  the  Girondine   party,  and    of  exci- 
ting the  populace  againft  the  honeft  part  of  tha,t 
great    city.     Jean-Bon    St.    Andre,     who    was  a 
member  of  the  Convention,  and  an  enthutiaflic 
Jacobin,  notwithilanding   he    had   the  reputation, 
of  being  an  honeft   man,     having   conceived    a 
great  efteem  for  Dumourier,  although  he  had  no 
perfonal  acquaintance  with  the  General,  was  ex- 
tremely  anxious    to  bring  about   this  interview, 
and  requeiled  that  he  might  be   prefent.     The 
General  was  not    fatisfled    that  the    adventurer 
Proli,  whom  he  defpifed,  fliould  be  the  medium 
of  this  negociation  ;  however,  for  many  impor- 
tant reaipns,  he,  at  length,  confented  to  the  in- 
terview. 

On  the  day  appointed,  the  General  was  inclif- 
pofed  ;  but  as  he  would  not,  by  a  violation  of  his 
word,  feem  to  be  wanting  in  refpecl  to  Desfieux 
and  St.  Andre,  to  both  of  whom  he  was  a  ill  anger, 
he  made  another  appointment  to  meet  them  at  the 
houfe  of  Bonne-Carrere,  who  was  the  intimate 
friend  of  thefe  two  perfons. 

The  interview  took  place  at  the  houfe  of 
Bonne-Carrere.  Desfieux  appeared  to  the  Ge- 
neral to  be  a  man  of  mean  capacity,  and  of  a 
violent  difpofit ion.  Jean-Boa  St.  Andre  feemed 

better 


(    94     ) 

better  informed,  and  more  moderate.  No  ar- 
rangement could  be  made  refpeciing  the  trode 
of  the  Genera  i's  prefenting  hiijife  f  i.>  '  -  ico- 
bin  fociety ;  nor  on  the  conctna  ae  locicrv  would 
obferve  towards  him,  governed  as  it  faas  by 
Marat.  Dumourier,  therefore,  declined  enter- 
ing into  any  engagement  to  prefent  hiinfelf  to  the 
fociety;  nor  did  he  make  any  decliunr.cn  of  a 
contrary  intention. 

As  to  the  trial  of  the  King,  which  the  General 
feared  to  touch  upon,  excepting  very  (lightly, 
left  he  fliould  injure  the  caufe  by  ieeming  to  be 
interefted  in  it,  he  faw  that  Desfieux  and  Jean- 
Bonne  St.  Andre,  were  governed  by  favage  rage 
againft  the  King,  which  vented  itfelf  in  the  vileft 
and  moFt  unjull  terms ;  and  he  perceived  clearly, 
that  he  had  nothing  to  hope  on  that  point  from 
thefe  men. 

They  vehemently  fupported  Pache  and  his 
affociates,  and  Desfieux,  who  called  himfelf  the 
organ  of  the  Jacobins,  requefted  Dumourier  to 
withdraw  his  accufations  againft  the  minifter  of 
war,  whom  the  Jacobins,  he  faid,  wrere  deter- 
mined to  preierve  in  his  place ;  and  invited  the 
General  to  join  their  faction  in  difgracing  Le 
Brun,  Garat,  Claviere,  and  above  all,  Roland  ; 
which  minifters  they  considered  as  the  agents  of 
the  Girondine  party. 

The  General  now  refolved  to  break  off  thefe 
negociatipns  entirely ;  and  informed  Bonne- 
Carrere  of  his  determination.  But  he  felt  the 
danger  to  which  he  {hould  expofe  himfelf  in 
taking  this  ftep  ;  and  efpecially  in  purfuing  the 
plan  he  had  laid  down,  and  which  he  had  an- 
nounced to  the  convention,  of  refigrjing  the 
command.  I»e  well  knew,  that  thenceforth  he 
•  either  join  the  Jacobins,  and  become  the 
,:r:p!ice  of  their  crimes,  or  deprived  of  the 
command,  his  only  ihield  againft  his  enemies, 

fie 


(     95     ) 

be  fhould  be  pnrfued  on  the  unjuft  accufatiorrs  of 
Haifenfratz,  and  delivered  over  to  the  execrable 
Revolutionary  Tribunal,  that  has  iince  murdered 
Cuftine  on  the  flighted  pretences. 

Dumourier  therefore  made  up  his  mind  upon 
the  courie  he  mould  purfue;  and  which  he  after- 
ward adapted  to  the  political  cir  cum  fiances  that 
will  be  related  in  the  following  chapters.  Loiing 
all  hope  of  faving  the  king,  he  now  thought  only 
of  the  means  of  avenging  his  death,  of  faving  his 
unfortunate  queen  and  her  fon,  and,  by  the  efla- 
blifhment  of  a  limited  monarchy,  of  putting  an 
end  to  the  frightful  diforders  that  were  compleat- 
ing  the  difgrace  and  ruin  of  France, 


C  H  A  P.     X. 

Of  the  Executive  Council  of  France. 

IT  was  with  the  fix  miniiters  exerciling  the  ex- 
ecutive power  in  France,  that  General  Dumou- 
rier  tranfacled  the  chief  part  of  his  buimefs  dur- 
ing the  twenty-fix  days  that  he  pafied  at  Paris. 
And  here  it  will  be  necefiary  to  obferve  that,  in 
a  writing  he  publimed  after  that  period,  by  an 
error  in  the  prefs,  twenty- fix  hours  were  put  for 
twenty-fix  days.  In  confequence  of  which  error, 
a  criticifm  appeared  in  one  of  the  Englifh  papers, 
in  which  the  general  was  ferioufly  reproached 
with  averting  he  had  performed,  in  twenty-fix 
hours,  the  bufinefs  of  twenty-fix  days. 

The  minifters  were  Roland,  to  whom  we  will 
give  a  chapter  apart.     He  was  hated  by  the  other 

five, 


(     96     ) 

five,  who  concealed  all  they  could  from  him. 
They  were  themfelves  divided  into  two  very 
oppoiite  parties.  One  was  compofed  of  Le  Brim, 
miniirer  of  foreign  affairs,  whom  Dumourier  had 
made  fir  ft  clerk,  ami  who  was  very  fit  for  that 
fitaation,  bein^  induftrious  and  well  informed  ; 
but  he  had  neither  iliificient  dignity  nor  energy 
of  mincl  to  act  /or  himleif,  and  was  rendered 
deceitful  by  his  timidity  of  character,  even  to- 
ward his  benefactor,  although  he  flill  regarded 
him  as  neceflary  to  his  fupport.  He  had  difrnif- 
fed  from  his  office  Marar  and  Ncel,  two  men 
neither  deficient  in  talents  nor  hone  11  y  ;  had  ap- 
pointed no  perfoft  to  iuperintend  the  bufmefs  of 
the  office,  and  to  dtftribute  the  work  to  the  dif- 
ferent fuperior  clerks ;  and  he  had  taken  for  his 
principal  fecretary  a  man  of  the  name  of  Ifabeau, 
whofe  reputation  was  none  of  the  faireft.  Occu- 
pied, like  minifters  of  former  times,  by  intrigues 
for  the  prefervation  of  his  place,  he  was  more 
influenced  by  the  Jacobins  than  became  a  man, 
to  whom  Briilbt,  Condorcet,  and  the  other  heads 
of  the  Girondine  party  dictated  the  policy  of  his 
foreign  negotiations. 

Of  the  faction  of  Le  Brun  was  GaratT  minifter 
cf  juftice,  a  man  of  an  able  and  upright  mind, 
and  to  whom  no  reproach  could  be  made  except- 
ing that,  by  an  adulation  unworthy  of  himfelf,  he 
had  endeavoured  to  apologize  for  the  well  known 
murders  of  the  fir  ft  days  of  September.  Grou- 
velle,  although  only  fecretary  of  the  council,  may 
be  confidered  as  having  ail  the  influence  of  a 
•minifter,  fince  he  ailumed  much  authority  and 
gave  his  opinion,  and  decided  on  every  thing. — 
lie  was  a  man  of  letters,  overbearing,  and  open 
in  his  avowal  of  bold  and  extravagant  notions  of 
liberty. 

On  the  other  fide  was  Pache,  minifter  of  war, 
a  man  of  fenfe,  and  poffibly  an  honeft  man,  but 

ignorant 


(    97    ) 

ignorant  and  blindly  devoted  to  the  Jacobin  party. 
He  had  a  wife  and  daughter,  equally  ugly  and  ill 
tempered,  who  frequented  the  clubs  and  even  the 
haunts  of  the  Marfeillois,  to  demand  the  king's 
death.  The  war-office  was  become  a  club,  breath- 
ing nothing  but  blood  and  carnage.  The  clerks 
always  wore  the  red  cap  at  their  defks,  and  ufed 
the  phrafes  thou  and  tbee  to  every  one,  even  to 
the  minifter,  who  himfelf  affected  a  flovenly  drefs, 
and  courted  the  Pariiian  populace,  by  aiturnmg 
their  manners. 

The  fame  difgufting  fcene  prefented  itfelf  in  the 
office  of  the  marine  department,  from  which  all 
the  clerks  of  character  and  experience  were  driven, 
to  make  way  for  ignorant  and  furious  Jacobins, 
who,  notwithstanding  the  filthinefs  of  their  appear- 
ance, have  acquired  immenfe  fortunes. 

The  war-office  and  that  of  the  marine  depart- 
ment, united  in  piefenting  an  addrefs  to  the  Na- 
tional Convention,  (igned  alfo,  as  it  was  faid,  by 
the  two  miniiters,  demanding  that  the  king  ihould 
be  put  to  death.  Monge,  the  minifter  of  the  ma- 
rine, was  an  academician,  had  been  an  excellent 
lecturer  in  hydrography,  and  feemed  a  man  of 
limple  manners,  but  was  a  little  ungracious  in  his 
behaviour.  He  was  entirely  devoted  to  Pache ; 
and,  in  concert  with  him,  fupported  the  Jacobin 
faction  in  the  council. 

Ciaviere,  minifter  of  the  finances,  although  he 
was  connected  with  and  fupported  by  the  Giron- 
difts,  and  was  the  relation  of  Rriffot,  frequently 
joined  the  other  faction,  from  a  love  of  contradic- 
tion, and  becaufe  it  was  the  molt  active  and  pow- 
erful. Like  the  reft,  he  thought  of  nothing  but 
of  preferving  his  place,  which  Cambon,  and  the 
committee  of  finance  were  endeavouring  to  flip- 
prefs. 

Such  was  the  executive  council  of  France,  in 
the  rnoft  critical  period  of  her  exigence.  An  ob- 

O  vicus 


(    98     ) 

Vious  and  fad  reflection  naturally  prefents •  itfelf  $ 
theFrenchRevohition,  under  the  pretence  of  equa- 
lizing all  men,  has  debafed  all  men.  Moil  of  the 
Jacobins,  belonged  to  the  loweft  clafs  of  the  peo- 
ple;  and,  unable  to  find  among  themfelves  perfons 
equni  to  the  firft  Rations,  they  lowered  the  nature 
of  thofe  (rations  to  their  own  level.  Hence,  there 
is  neither  dignity,  nor  character,  in  the  govern- 
.  ment :  nor  respectability,  nor  a  fenfe  of  duty  in 
the  people;  and  the  populace,  unlike  the  Athenian 
democracy,  are  drunken  and  favage  flaves,  ufurp- 
ing  the  place  of  the  Spartans.  The  ancient  go- 
vernment was  deftroyed  to  remedy  the  abufe  of 
diitvibuting  places  among  the  nobles,  without  any 
regard  to  their  moral  capacities.  Yet,  inftead  of 
the  Revolution  replacing  them  by  men  of  talents* 
it  has  filled  their  feats  with  artful  and  impudent 
plebeians.' 

France  cannot  efcape  her  entire  ruinT  but  in 
freeing  herfelf  from  the  fubaltern  tyrants  that  in- 
vade every  department.  Unhappily,  (he  no  long- 
er has  the  means  in  her  own  hands,  fince  thefe 
tyrants  are  matters  of  trie  money,  armsr  power, 
and  authority  of  the  nation.  But  the  ignorance 
and  barbarous  rage  of  this  horde  is  dettrucftive  of 
itfelf;  and  foreign  arms  will  rettore  the  ancient 
defpotifrn,  inftead  of  forming  that  juft  equilibrium 
between  the  talents  of  men  and  the  employments 
of  the  lla-te  that  conttitutes  the  perfection  of  go- 
vernment. This  Hate  of  things  however,  cannot 
remain  long ;  becaufe  the  love  of  liberty  is  too 
deeply  rooted  in  France  to  be  ever  again  wholly 
deftroyed;  and  the  reiteration-  of  defpotifrn  will 
beget  another  revolution,  the  moment:  that  foreign 
troops  {hall  be  withdrawn  from  the  country,  and 
ihall  leave  the  nobles  of  France,  fcattered  over 
that  vaft  kingdom,  to  the  vengeance  of  the  people, 
called  down  on  their  heads  by  the  abufe  of  thei* 
fiiort  lived  triumph. 

The 


(     99     ) 

The  council  did  not  interfere  in  the  fate  cf  the 
king.  Le  Brim  and  Garat,  feemed  to  .apprehend 
the  confequences  of  the  trial ;  but  they  feared  to 
employ  the  means,  or  to  indulge  in  the  idea,  of 
putting  a  Hop  to  it,  or  of  fufpending  it ;  and  con- 
fined tbemfelves  to  a  declaration,  that  it  was  un- 
fortunate for  France  that  fuch  a  trial  had  commen- 
ced. Roland  was  the  moft  terrified  of  all  the 
rninirrers  at  this  trial ;  becaufe,  in  reflect  in  gout  he 
imprudence,  and  on  the  injuflice  of  his  former 
complaints  againft  the  King,  no  doubt  he  felt  that 
he  was  the  principal  caufe  of  the  king's  danger. 
He  relented  and  was  iilent.  It  belonged  to  the 
malignant  mind  of  Claviere,  to  rejoice  at  the  trial ; 
and  befides,  he  had  always  difcovered  a  perfonal 
hatred  againft  Louis  XVI.  As  to  Pache  and  Monge, 
they  canvafTed  openly  for  the  king's  death.  And 
Grouvelle  declared,  that  it  was  neceffary  to  the 
honour  of  the  Republic,  that  he  (houid  die. 

The  open  and  bitter  quarrels  that  exiiled.  be- 
tween the  mmifter  of  war  rcid.  the  generals,  on 
the  complaints  made  by  the  latter  respecting  the 
armies,  and  the  providing  of  neceffanes  for  the 
troops,  could  never  bring  the  council  to  take  any 
ftep  in  its  collective  capacity  relative  to  thofe  fub- 
jecls.  Exery  one  of  the  members  referved  an 
exclufive  authority  in  his  .own  department ;  and 
Pache  laid  before  the  council,  as  well  as  before 
jthe  committee  of  war,  ibtements  which  were  al- 
together faife,  and  which  wrere  uniformly  oppofed 
by  new  complaints  from  the  Generals,  and  by  the 
reports  of  the  CommilTioners  of  the  Convention 
with  the  armies.  The  council  heard  all  the  re- 
ports and  complaints,  but  they  full  upheld  the 
committee  of  contracts,  which  was  fecr.etiy  influ- 
enced by  Claviere,  the  friend  of  Bidermann,  who 
was  at  the  head  of  the  committee  ;  and  the  affairs 
of  the  armies  were  conducted  as  before.  No  pro- 
•iilon  was  made  cither  for  the  clothinc,  fubfifU 
O2 


ence,  or  accoutrements  of  the  troops,  nor  for 
the  hofpitals,  nor  for  the  ammunition  that  was 
wanted  in  the  frontier  places,  nor  for  the  works 
necefTary  to  put  them  in  a  flute  of  defence.  At 
that  time  the  Jacobins  had  refolved  to  place  one 
of  their  faclion  at  the  head  of  the  municipality, 
and  had  promifed  to  make  Pache  mayor  of  Paris ; 
he,  therefore,  gave  himfelf  little  uneafinefs  re^ 
fpecling  the  future  embarrafTments  of  the  war 
department;  which  Haffenfratz  and  Meufnier  were 
to  quit  along  with  him. 

The  more  we  reflect  on  the  conduct:  of  the  Ja- 
cobins, the  more  are  we  lofl  in  conjecture  ref- 
pecling  the  fpirit  by  which  they  were  guided.  It 
is  Certain,  that  they  have  been  continually  in- 
duflrious  to  diforganize  France,  and  to  render 
ufelefs  the  immenfe  refources  (lie  pofleiTed  for 
the  defence  of  her  liberty  ;  they  have  ruined  the 
fleets  and  armies ;  they  have  imprifoned  or  driven 
out  of  the  kingdom,  the  ablefl  officers ;  they  have 
Javifhed  the  treafures  of  the  nation  in  wild  and 
ineffectual  expences ;  they  have  deflroyed  the 
commercial  and  political  connections  of  France 
with  other  nations ;  and  have  fet  every  nation  at 
defiance  ;  and  it  cannot  be  doubted,  that  the  fo- 
ciety  has  been  influenced  by  Englifh,  Italians, 
Flemings  and  Germans,  pretending  to  be  furious 
Jacobins,  and  who  were  known  to  be  the  fpies  of 
foreign  governments.  In  this  clafs  may  be  ranked 
Clootz,  Marat,  Chabot,  Pio,  the  Je\V  Ephraim, 
De  Bufcher,  and  many  others. 

The  decree  of  the  15th  of  December,  far  from 
being  difapproved  of  by  the  Council,  was  fup- 
ported  by  every  one  of  the  members,  Le  Brim 
had  been  iecretary  to  the  people  of  Liege,  during 
this  revolution,  to  which  he  had  given  his  lup- 
port  by  a  periodical  work,  entitled,  u  The  Jour- 
nal of  Europe."  This  paper  was  not  ill  written  ; 
and  it  was  in  -ccnfequence  of  feeing  it,  that  Da- 

mourier 


fnonrier  had  placed  him  at  the  department  of  fo- 
reign affairs.  Le  Brun  was  of  opinion,  as  well 
as  moft  of  the  other  revplppcoiifo  of  Ftajice,  that 
a  revolution  could  not  be'-  iliccefaful  without  be- 
ing attended  by  a  compje.te^diforg^^^tiqn;  fo 
that  he  could  not  fail  to -'approve  of  a  decree,  'cal- 
culated to  diforganize  a  people,  who  had  the 
misfortune  to  call  upon  us  for  aid.  The  prin- 
ciples of  Durnourier,  which  inclined  him  to 
refpedl  the  liberty,  property,  and  opinions  of 
others,  could  not  be  very  acceptable  to  Le  Brun. 
But  Le  Brun  was  filent  on  the  fubjecl  to  Durnou* 
rier,  although  he,  in  concert  with  Marat,  Chepy, 
.and  his  other  emjilaries,  hid  eftablrlhed  a  de- 
ftruclive  engine  in  Belgium,  under  the  name 
of  the  Revolutionary  Committee.  The  General 
complained  to  the  miniiler  of  the  language  and 
conduct  of  Chepy,  defiring  he  might  be  recalled, 
as  being  dangerous  to  the  affairs  of  France  in 
Belgium.  Le  Brun,  however,  not  only  counte- 
nanced Chepy,  but  gave  him  new  inflructicns 
jthat  greatly  extended  his  power. 

In  the  fame  manner  while  the  General  was 
foliciting  the  revocation  of  the  decree  of  the  l^th 
of.  December,  the  council  appointed,  on  the  re- 
commendation of  the  Jacobins,  thirty-two  com- 
rai{!k>ners  of  the  Executive  Power,  to  whofe  fitu- 
ation  was  annexed  the  falary  of  1 0,000  livres, 
befides  the  expences  of  their  journey,  and  the 
profits  of  their  robberies.  Thele  commiflioners 
were  furnifhed  with  ridiculous  indruclions,  in 
which  the  council  feigned  to  confine  their  au- 
thority within  narrow  bounds ;  but  the  commif- 
lioners paid  no  regard  to  their  inftructions,  having 
thernfelves  given  an  arbitrary  latitude  to  their 
power.  Thefe  mifcreants  inflicled  the  greateil 
wrongs  on  the  Belgians,  and  catifed  among  that 
people  an  utter  abhorrence  of  the  French  name. 

The 


(      10*      ) 

The  plan  of  the  campaign  remained  yet  to  be 
fettled.     Cambon  had  aflerted  that  France  main- 
tained 600,000  troops,  '  It  was   now  the    15th  of 
January;  'and  the  council  knew  not  how  many 
troog-s  Fa r.ce.r Airily  had  on  .foot,  nor  how  many 
enemies  the  would 'have  to  contend  with,  in  the 
campaign.  The  General  Hated  to  the  Council  that, 
although  all  Europe  fhould  declare" again!!  France, 
(he  having  no  civil  war,   (for   the  revolt    in  La 
Vendee  had  not  yet  broken  out)  might  defend  her 
frontiers  with  three  hundred  aud  feventy  thoufand 
men  (the  fixth  part  of  them  being  cavalry  )exclunve 
tot  the  garrifons  and  troops  of  the  fleet,  by  (landing 
on  the  defenlive  on  the  fouth  and  on  the  banks  of 
the  Rhine,  and  confining  their   ciienfive  opera- 
tions to  the  frontiers  extending  from  the  Mozelle 
to  Dunkirk.     The  General  propofed  to  diflribute 
the  troops  in  the  following  manner  :  80,000  men 
to  compofe  the    army   of  Belgium ;  40,000   men 
that  of  the  Ardennes ;  a   corps  of  2o,ooo  to   be 
polled  on  the  Mozelle,  to  keep  open  the  commu- 
nication between  the  armies  of  the  Ardennes  and 
that  of  the  Rhine  ;  50,000  to  compofe  the  army 
of  the  Rhine  ;  a   reierve  of  2o,ooo  men  to  be 
placed  at  Chalons  or  Soiflbns ;  a  corps  of  15,000 
at  Lyons,    to  watch  Switzerland  and  Piedmont ; 
40,000  for  the  army  of  Savoy  and   countries   of 
Nice  and  Provence  ;  25,000  ipr  the  army  of  the 
Pyrennees ;  40,000  for  the  coaft  of  the  Weil,  from 
Bciyonne  to  Breil ;  and  40,000  for  the  coafts  along 
the  channel,  from  Breft  to  Dunkirk.     All  thefe 
armies  might  mutually  alM  each  other;  and,  as 
the  whole  of  France  was  armed,   even  mould  the 
enemy  penetrate  any  part,  it  was  not  to  be  doubted 
they  would  be  repulfed  or  overwhelmed. 

General  Dumourier  alfo  propofed  that  Cuftine's 
army,  which  had  already  evacuated  Franckfort, 
iljoiild  f::U  back  upon  Landau,  leaving  a  garrifon 

in 


in  Mayence  fnfEcient  to  compel  the  king  of  Pruf- 
iia  to  lofe  three  or  four  months  before  that  place, 
which  would  aiford  time  to  put  the  fortified  towns 
of  Aiface,  Lorraine,  and  the  Ardennes,  into  a 
proper  irate  of  defence,  and  to  make  the  enemy 
on  that  lide  lofe  the  reft  of  the  campaign. 

The  General  further  propoled.  that  the  greatefi: 
efforts  fhould  be  made  to  pufh  the  campaign  on 
with  vigour  on  the  fide  of  Belgium,  becaufe  that 
being  a  flat  country  without  fortified  places,  or 
even  without  any  of  thofe  naturally  itrong  iitua- 
tions  of  country  which  ftand  in  the  place  of  for- 
trefles,  the  fate  of  the  war  in  thefe  provinces  muft 
be  decided  by  battles.  On  this  fcheme,  if  the 
French  mould  be  victorious,  the  greater  part  of 
the  French  army  might  pafs  the  Rhine :  and  if 
unfuccefsful,  might  retire  behind  the  fortrefles  of 
Flanders  and  Artois;  however  the  whole  cam- 
paign might  pafs  without  the  French  lines  being 
broke  in  upon  in  this  quarter. 

Inftead  of  this  plan,  which  Dumourier  laid 
before  the  Committee  of  General  Safety,  as  well 
as  the  Executive  Council,  La  Clos,  who  had  jufl 
been  appointed  to  the  command  in  India,  propofed 
that  they  fhould  inftantly  fend  him  out  with  fifteen 
velTels  and  15,000  men,  which  meafure  necefih- 
rily  involved  a  war  with  England  and  Holland, 
although  it  had  then  been  very  eafy  and  was  very 
necellary  to  the  fafety  of  France  to  have  avoided 
that  war. 

The  object  of  this  expedition  of  La  Clos  was  to 
make  himfelf  mailer  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope 
and  the  ifland  of  Ceylon  ;  and  afterwards,  to  join 
Tippoo  Saib  and  to  attack  Bengal. 

Keller-maim,   on  paying  his  refpects  to  the  Na- 
tional Convention,  on  his  departure  to  take  the 
command  of  the  army  of  Dauphine,  which  amount- 
ed to  nearly  twenty  thoufand  men  (excludve   of 
'the  army  of  the  country  of  Nice,  under  General 

Biron, 


104 

Biron,  from  ten  to  twelve  thoufand  men)  re- 
ceived orders  from  the  Preiident  to  go  and 
conquer  Rome  ;  and  the  General  gravely  an- 
fwered,  that  he  took  his  leave  to  go  to  Rome. 
This  army  had  alib  been  weakened  by  draw- 
ing between  ieven  and  eight  thoufand  men  from 
ii.  for  the  fleet  that  lay  at  Toulon,  deftined  to 
conquer  Sardinia.  This  expedition  was  under- 
taken in  the  in  oft  ftormy  part  of  the  .year,  in  a. 
narrow  feaj  abuundin-*  with  rocks  and  iflands ; 
and  part  of  the  fleet  \vas  loil,  and  the  expedition 
foiled: 

The  army  of  the  Pyrennees  confided  only  of  an 
exienilve  eilablifhment  of  naff  otncers,  without 
troops.  Yet  the  Convention  had  refolved  upon 
conquering  Spain,  and  had  deftined  40,000  men, 
that  were  not  raifed,  and  General  Servan,  for 
the  purpofe.  There  were  no  troops  on  the  coaft 
of  the  weft  and  north;  excepting  ibme  weak  gar- 
rifons  at  Belleifle,  and  at  two  or  three  other  places 
on  that  coaft.  There  was  no  army  of  referve. 
Fifty  thoufand  men  were  wanting  to  complete  the 
army  of  Belgium  and  that  of  the  Ardennes ;  the 
army  of  Aiface  did  not  amount  to  2o,oo  men, 
exclulive  of  22,ooo  flint  up  in  Mayence  ;  and  the 
army  of  the  Mczelle  did  not  amount  to  12,000 
men. 

In  order  therefore  to  put  the  plan  of  General 
Dumourier  in  execution,  there  were  wanting  more 
than  150,000  men  ;  together  with  the  provifions, 
arrns,  and  clothing,  for  this  large  body  of  troops. 
Above  all,  France  was  in  want,  of  cavalry.  The 
armies  of  Belgium  and  of  the  Ardennes  required 
a  body  of  2o,ooo  cavalry  ;  and  the  two  armies  had 
not  6,000  ;  and  they  were  in  want  of  15,000  ar- 
tillery hories. 

The  General's  plan  was  adopted  ;  the  370,000 
men  were  decreed  to  be  raifed  ;  and  a  few  altera- 
tions made  in  the  diitribution  of  the  troops ;  but 

this 


(     105     ) 

this  was  all  that  ever  was  done  towards  the  exe- 
cution of  the  plan.  However,  the  General  ob- 
tained an  order  a  few  days  before  his  departure 
for  15,000  men  of  the  new-railed  battalions  to 
inarch  from  the  third  line  in  Picardy,  Flanders, 
and  Artois,  where  they  were  altogether  ufelefs, 
into  maritime  Flanders. 

Independent  of  the  Executive  Council,  from 
which  (as  Le  Brun  and  Garat  fufpeded)  a  great 
many  projects  were  concealed,  elpecially  thofe 
refpeclmg  foreign  politics,  there  were  two  pri- 
vate committees  held  at  the  houfe  of  General  Du- 
inourier,  which  feemed  to  difpofe  of  the  fate  of 
the  empire  ;  and  which  in  fad  produced  nothing. 
They  were  compofed  of  the  twominifters  Le  Brun 
and  Garat,  and  thofe  members  of  the  Girondine 
party,  Condorcet,  Pethion,  Genfonne  and  Brifibt* 
It  is  probable  that  the  only  objed  of  the  party, 
in  ellablifhing  thefe  committees,  was  that  their 
exigence  mould  be  known  to  Paris,  in  order  to 
beget  an  opinion  that  the  General  was  entirely 
devoted  to  them ;  and  thereby  to  ftrengthen  the 
party,  by  the  acquiiition  of  his  friends,  Le  Brim 
even  feemed  unwilling  that  the  negociations  then 
carrying  on  with  England  and  Holland  fliould  be 
at  all  enquired  into  by  the  committees;  and  re- 
quefted  the  General  to  forbear  touching  on  the 
fubjed ;  and  it  was  never  introduced. 

BrifTot  beaded  of  his  plans  for  the  conqueft  of 
Spain  and  Italy;  but  the  General  eafily  deteded 
the  folly  of  his  calculations. 

The  iituation  of  the  Republic  with  Switzerland, 
was  an  interefting  fubjecl.  The  malignity  of  Cla- 
viere,  had  been  lately  gratified,  in  compelling 
General  Montefquieu  to  become  an  exile  to  efcape 
the  fangs  of  his  perfecutor  the  vile  Du  Bois  de 
Crance  ;  and,  in  diforganizing  Geneva,  his  na- 
tive country.  BriiTbt  and  his  adherents  maintained, 
that  it  was  necefiary  to  compel  the  Swifs  Can- 
P  to  115 


(      loD      ) 

tons  to  abandon  their  neutrality;  or,  in  cafe  of 
refufal  to  attack  them  ;  and  it  is  probable  that  in 
this  they  were  acted  upon  by  the  ;;p;ents  of  the 
combined. .powers., •  to  whom  it  was  veiy.impoi! 
that  Switzerland  ihould  join  the  confederacy. 
tThe  General  proved  by  ai  s  drawn  firm 

the    relative    iituations    of   France,     Switzerland, 
•nnd  the  Cornbineel  Poweis,   to  which  theie  nifeta- 
clchns  were   frraiigers,   that  it  was  prudent   to 
conciliate  the  p;ocd  dilpoiitions   of   the    Helvetic 
-body   towards  France  ;   yet,  at  the   fame   time   to 
Liitatoi  an  arrnv  of  15,00.0.  men  to  cover  Lyons, 
land  to  I  UT  on  any  emergency  en  that  fide. 

1  DanToiiner  was  the  more  elelirous  of  preferring 
,  becauie  it  was   during  his  admini- 
irnitien, rhut  the  event  of  the  dilarming  the  regi- 
-inent  of  Erneil  happened  at  Aix.     At  that,  period, 
he  made- every  con^penlaticn  he  could  to  that  brave 
regiment,  for  the  injuilice  of  his  countrymeri ;  he 
pi  eiented  the  red  ribband  to  the  two  principal  of- 
ficers,  and  provided  for  the  iafety  of  their  retreat 
with  their  men  to. the  frontiers. 

GenerabDumourier  always  exerted  everv  means 
erto  yjreferve  peace  with  Switzerland; 
a  nieaiur'e  that  was  io  juii,  and  ib  neceliary  to 
the  welfare  of  the  two  nations.  But  he  rriufi: 
own,  that  his  efforts  have  leis  contributed  to  that 
difficult  tsfk,  than  the  prudent  and  firm  conduct 
of  Colonel  cle  Weiio,  a  member  of  the  ibvereign 
council  of  Berne,  avid  a  writer  diflinguifhed  bv 
works  which  dilplav  ex  tenure  knowledge,  energy 
cf  mind,  and  gocdnefs  of  heart.  This  ofHcer, 
•  without .  pohcJlm^'  acv  ofiennble  diplomatic  cha- 
racter, 'Avas  Tefpected  by  the  miniilry,  \vasliiien- 
ed  to  in  the  committee?,  'and  had  even  acquired 
an  ntion.  ,  Tranquil  when 

furrounded  -by  danger,  nnd  uncorrupted   in   the 
michl  of  crime",  bi  j  .to  fay  to  one  of 

th;  .     I  kwzv  ibiit  you  can  cuifje  vie 

to 


to  le  arr-Jled  or  maffucred ;  but  proofs  cf  your 
fainy.  that  would  bring  you  to   tie  fcajfotd  in  eight 
days,  are  within  my  reach:  I  demand  that  a  pc. 
ab'e   conduct   on    the  fart  of  France,   toward   my 
country,  be  the  price  of  my  Jikti^c. 

On  another  trying  occaiion,  when  a  fupcrior 
officer  had  bluntly  interrupted  him,  in' the  midit 
of  a  fentence,  to  demand  if,  daring  to  ipeak  the 
language  he  held,  he  had  a  100,000  men  at  hij 
beck  in  the  Fauxbourgs  of  Paris,  JNo,  lie  an- 
fwered  haughtily,  1  am  fingle  ;  but  I  have  a  hun- 
dred thoufand  republican  J'tnthnents  in  my  heart  of 
ivhicb  you  are  deftiiute.  He  was  applauded  bv 
his  audience  ;  and  continued  his  difcourfe. 

His  work  entitled,  A  rapid  furvey  of  the  rela- 
tive inter  efts  of  the  Helvetic  body,  and  the  French 
Republic,  which  was  publiftied  in  a  criiis  of  great 
danger  to  both  countries,  expofed  and  defeated 
the  hoftile  projects  of  a  faction,  towards  Switzer- 
land, on  the  eve  of  execution  ;  and  if  is  very 
probable  that,  without  the  foreiight  and  courage 
of  Colonel  de  Weifs,  war  had  been  declared  a-r 
gainfl  the  Helvetic  body  before  i.he  end  of  Fe- 
bruary. Various  fecret  preparations  were  already 
making  for  an  attack  upon  Switzerland,  in  puiv 
fait  of  an  ill  digotied  plan  of  Robert,  Gaviere, 
and  other  Swifs  emigrants.-  The  attack  was  to  be 
made  on  three  points  at  once.  A  column,  com- 
pofed  of  part  of  the  army  of  the  Upper  Rhine, 
and  augmented  by  new;  levies,  \ias  to  take  Bade 
by  lurprive,  or  nllhi.ik,  and  keep  the  A.uiln'.?n.> 
in  check.  Another  column,  drnun  from  the 
army  of  the  Alps,  was  to  blockade  Geneva,  vvhcie 
the  French  had  numcrrous  partiziv  1  to  pe- 

netrate by  Veribix  into   the  Pays  de  V:  I  he 

third  diviiion,  .v\  of  cliofc.'.  ;,    was 

to  milrch  fuddeiilv  bv  die  Pals  of  Porentnl,  al- 
ready occupied  by  the  'French,  sgainli  Berne, 
whole  treaiurv,  STimaries,  and  aiicn;:.  :ed 

F  2  thp 


the  cupidity  of  the  projedors  of  this  plan.  Berne 
bad  been  already  fecretly  reconnoitred  ;  and,  al- 
though it  be  nearly  furrounded  by  a  rapid  and 
deep  river,  it  was  expected  that  the  place  would 
be  carried,  by  pouring  in  bombs  and  red-hct 
balls  from  the  neighbouring  heights,  before  the 
Swifs  militia  could  affemble  with  force  to  oppofe 
the  attack.  The  projectors  of  the  plan  alfo  ex- 
pected a  powerful  diverfion  to  be  made  in  their 
behalf,  by  the  difcontented  party,  (whofe  num- 
bers were  greatly  exaggerated)  of  the  Lower  Va- 
lais,  Neuf-Chatel,  Pays  de  Vaud,  Soleure,  Lu- 
cerne, and  Fribourg.  This  lafl  city  was  deftined 
to  be  an  objed  of  fignal  vengeance,  on  account  of 
fome  offence  (he  had  committed  refpeding  the 
aflignats.  The  popular  governments  were  to  be 
informed  that  theie  hoftilities  would  not  a  fled 
them,  and  that  France  would  continue  to  preferve 
peace  with  them.  As  to  the  other  cantons,  the 
commiflioners  and  other  feditious  preachers  were 
to  overthrow  their  conftitutions,  flir  up  the  poor 
againft  the  rich,  malTacre,  imprifon,  or  banifli 
the  magiftrates  and  principal  citizens,  feize  upon 
fpecie,  provifions,  horles,  and  arms,  compel 
men  of  property  to  emigrate  that  their  eflates 
might  be  confifcated,  outrage  religion,  and  in  the 
name  of  liberty  and  the  public  good  to  ruin  this 
free  and  happy  people,  and  reduce  them  to  fla- 
very.  The  expedition  was  to  have  been  prompt ; 
but  the  explolion  wras  prevented,  and  Clavier^ 
and  Briflbt,  overawed  by  Weifs,  laid  afide  a  pro- 
led  in  which  Switzerland,  from  the  character  of 
the  times,  had  every  thing  to  hazard. 

The  conqueil  of  Rome  and  Spain,  were  defer- 
red till  armies  could  be  raifed  to  march  again!! 
thofe  countries.  As  to  all  other  affairs,  the  fit- 
tings of  thefe  two  committees  were  as  fruitlefs  as 
were  the  deliberations  of  the  committee  of  gene- 
ral iafety,  and  thofe  of  the  executive  council.— 

Dumourier 


(     109     ) 

D amour ier  could  not,  by  any  motive,  obtain  of 
them  the  accomplishment  of  any  objecl,  calcu- 
lated to  ferve  the  nation^ 


CHAP,   xi 


Retreat  of  Roland  from  the  Adminiftration. 


J\T  the  time  of  the  king's  death,  Roland,  who 
had  long  (trove  to  maintain  his  fituation  in  the 
miniilry,  againft  the  will  of  the  Jacobins,  as  well 
.as  againil  the  real  inclinations  of  his  own  party, 
lent  a  letter  to  his  colleagues  announcing  his  re- 
fignation.  The  miniilers  never  appeared  more 
chearful  than  on  the  day  they  received  this  letter, 
and  the  council  appeared  more  like  a  fchool  re- 
lieved from  the  reftraints  of  a  troublefome  pe- 
dant, than  a  grave  meeting  of  Statefmen.  Ko- 
land's  refignation,  made  part  of  a  compromife 
between  the  Jacobin  and  Gironde  parties,  ill 
which  it  was  agreed,  that  both  Roland  and  Pache 
(hould  quit  the  miniilry.  But  the  confequences 
were  very  different  to  thofe  two  miniiters,  the 
latter  of  them  acquiring  a  fituation  of  more  real 
importance  than  any  in  the  miniilry ;  while  the 
former  remained  more  than  ever  expofed  to  the 
infults  and  perfections  of  the  Jacobins. 

This  facrifice  made  of  Roland  by  his  party,  is 
another  intlance  of  the  cowardice  of  that  faction, 
which  ought  never  to  have  abandoned  a  man,  of 

whole 


(     "0     ) 

whofe  fervlces  they  had  availed  themfelves,  with- 
out any  refpecl  to  his  peace  or  lately.  In  truth, 
the  whole  conduct  of  Roland,  in  his  public  cha- 
racter, was  a  miftakcn  policy,  which  expofed 
himlclf  and  his  party  to  continual  danger.  Ro- 
land did  not  poiTefs  much  flrength  of  mind,  but 
had  acquired  extenfive  information  on  the  diffe- 
rent, branches  of  trade  and  manufactures;  and, 
Ji  it  had  been  expedient  to  divide  the  duties  of 
flic  adrniniitration  of  the  home  department, 
v.'hi.-h  was  too  extenfive  and  too  complicated  for 
a  mind  of  i'uch  little  energy,  it  is  probable,  he. 
would  have  made  an  excellent  miniiler  of  com- 
-I'KTcia!  concerns.  lie  was  upright'  in  his  de- 
%;!!>,  and  was  poffeffed  of  a  mild  and  philan- 
thropic difpofition  ;  but  the  defire  of  appearing  a 

moralin.  induced  him  to  aflume  a  feverity  of 
character  unnatural  to  him.  He  hoped  to  refera- 
ble Cato  the  Cenfor,  and  had  adopted  his  turn  of 
ccnvedation,  at  once  cold  and  repulhve,  but 
Without  the  genius  and  boldnels  of  that  celebra- 
ted mrjn.  In  his  drefs  he  was  nice  and  iingular, 
following  the  fafhions  of  former  times ;  but  this 
was  at  leaii  lei's  difpleafmg;  than  the  fiovenly  affec- 
tation of  the  Jacobins.  His  deportment  was  grave, 
and  not  unbecoming  the  dignity  of  his  ilation. 
lie  was  indefatigable  m  the  application  of  his  ta- 
lents. But  he  loved  too  much  to  gratify  the  will 
of  the  people,  and  Was  too  ready  to  believe  that 

;;.;her  orders  were  opprefilve  and  ur-juii ;  and 
this  diipofkion,  that  becomes  dargeroiis-  when  it 
is  roo  generally  indulged,  conducted  him  habitu- 
precipitate  and  imprudent  meafure-. — • 
He  was  candid  in  his  examinaticn  of  the  lubjecls 
•belor  i  he  other  departments  of  the  govern- 

ment,  fu^i  ns  thole    rdaung  to  the 

:;-,  ail  I  fiirei  ciaticns ;  and  ihpported, 

-  itfi   ^rfei  iinccv,  :    prcpoiitinii 

'•?  council"  or  a    juft   and   rcjicnable •  m- 


(    8*  ) 

hire.  ..Perceiving  the  equivocal  conducl  of  the 
other  miniilers,  miilruftirig.  their  talents  and 


hap-  .  .cd  faith,  he  would   no  longer  admit 

of  any  relpoijfibality  of  the  council  in  a  coikxfUve 
rapacity  :  a::i   his  pertinacity  in  refilling   to  ;• 
iwer   for  any   meaiures    but  ihofe   that    were  ; 
ccnieqcence  of  his  direct  orders  begat  a 
hatred  of  -him  than  ever  among  his  colleagues. 

The  temper  and  qualities  of  Roland  would 
have,  fitted  him  well  enough  for  the  rmiiiilry  hr.d 
the  republic  been  lettied  on  its  foundations,  and 
if  the  times  had  been  more  free  from  the  vio- 
lence .of  party  rage,  for  he  was  a  rigid  repubik  i 
This  difpoiition  was  the  caufe  of  his  ill  conduce 
to  Louis  the  XVI.  and  of  the  imprudent  Rep  of 
delivering  into  the  hands  of  the  Convention  the 
fatal  cheit  containing  the  monarch's  paffivt:*  cor- 
refpondence,  in  which  thofe  bafe  men  found 
pretexts  for  the  martyrdom  of  that  unfortunate 
prince. 

Perhaps  it.  was  prejudicial  to  the  interefls  of 
Roland  that  he  was  governed  by  his  wife,  who 
was  a  woman  of  line  talents,  and  whom  he  ac- 
knowledged to  be  the  critic,  that  gave  a  polifh  to 
his  numerous  works  ;  but  certainly  it  was  among 
his  misfortunes  to  be  furrouiided  by  ignorant  and 
deiigning  journaliits,  who  compoied,  under  his 
directions,  thofe  verbofe  harangues  that  covered 
the  walls  and  public  buildings  of  Paris  ;  for  the 

Jacobins 

*  Pajfiye?  Such  is  the  v/ord  in  the  original,  and  it-  is  print. 
ed  in  Italics.  Dumonrier  fecras  to  have  thought  that  Louis 
XVI.  was.  innocent,  becaufe  he  had  not  courage.  or  capacity 
to  contrive-  thz  means  of  injurirfg  the  nation.  Suppofino  he  is 
not  miftiiken  in  that  conclusion,  he  Teems  to  have  forgotten, 
that  he  was  conceding  one  of  the  great  points,  infilled  upon 
by  the  friends  of  Democracy,  that  it  is  in  vain  to.  have  ai> 
innocent  king,  if  his  mmifters,  miilreUes,  wives,  or  favou- 
rites, be  not  innocent  alfo  :  -as  it  would  be  in  -vain  that  thefe 
latter  Ihould  be  innocent,  if  the  king  .be:  avaricious,  dccc. 
or  tyrannical-  T. 


(      "2      ) 

Jacobins  had  the  addrefs  to  turn   this  engine  of 
faction  againit  him  and  his  party. 

Among  the  women  who  have  rifen  to  celebrity 
during  the  French  revolution,  no  one  has  aded  a 
more  confpicuous  or  noble  part  than  that  of  Ma- 
dame Roland.  She  was  between  thirty  and  forty 
years  of  age,  had  a  lively  and  healthy  counte- 
nance, and  a  molt  interesting  figure  ;  ihe  drefled 
with  great  taite  ;  converfed  with  ability,  although 
perhaps  with  too  much  wit  and  refinement ;  fhe 
was  innocently  gay,  and  had  placed  herfelf  at  the 
head  of  a  party  confuting  of  metaphyficians, 
icholars,  members  of  the  Convention,  and  rni- 
nifters.  Every  day  thefe  partizans  of  Madame 
Roland  paid  their  refpeds  to  her,  and  on  the  Fri- 
day of  every  week  they  dined  at  her  houfe,  where 
the  condud  and  politics  of  flatefmeii  took  their 

character  from  Madame  Roland's  opinions.- 

None  of  the  wives  of  the  other  miniflers  were 
admitted  to  thefe  meetings. 

It  would  be  unjuft  not  to  notice  the  fpirit  with 
which  Madame  Roland  concluded  herfelf  under 
an  infult  of  the  Jacobins,  at  a  time  when  her 
hufband's  name  had  already  fallen  into  great  dif- 
credit.  Interrogated  at  the  bar  of  the  Conven- 
tion, refpeding  the  injurious  acculaticns  of  an 
unprincipled  man  named  Viard,  fhe  faid,  I  am 
the  wife  of  citizen  Roland  /  /  bear  the  name  of  a 
virtuous  man,  to  whom  I  am  proud  to  le  allied. < — • 
Certainly  it  required  all  the  malignity  of  the  Ja- 
cobins to  perfecute  fuch  a  woman. 

Although  Madame  Roland  poiTefTed  much 
good  fenfe,  fhe  permitted  it  to  be  feen  that  ihe 
governed  her  hufoand,  and  thereby  did  a  difler- 
vice  to  his  reputation,  for  which  fhe  could  not 
compenfate  by  the  value  of  her  councils.  It  was 
Madame  Roland  that  (elected  Pache  and  Lanthe- 
nas  to  aid  her  hufband  in  his  adminiftration  ;  and 
the  former  of  them  fo  entirely  gained  the  confi- 
dence 


deuce  of  Roland,  that  he  was  appointed  minifter 
of  war  through  Roland's  intereft.  Pache  was  no 
fooner  the  colleague  of  Roland,  than  he  became 
his  enemy,  and  fought  by  every  means  to  ruin 
him,  and  for  that  purpofe  he  did  not  hefitate  to 
become  the  partifan  of  the  moil  intemperate  men 
among  the  Jacobins.  The  conteft  between  thole 
two  minifters  was  open,  and  their  hofliie  attacks 
were  without  meafure  or  decency.  They  both 
defcended  from  their  iituations,  but  with  Pache 
it  was  only  to  rife  to  higher  power.  Roland  was 
to  be  fubjeded  to  new  and  more  bitter  misfor- 
tunes. 

Other  women  have  alfo  diih'nguiihed  them- 
felves  during  the  revolution,  but  without  the  dig- 
nity that  has  been  preferred  by  Madame  Roland  ; 
excepting,  indeed,  it  be  Madame  Necker,  who, 
in  many  refpecls,  may  be  confidered  as  the  rival 
of  Madame  Roland's  fame,  and  whofe  age  and 
experience,  if  it  rendered  her  lefs  agreeable  to 
the  thoughtlefs,  gave  her  the  advantage  as  the 
counfellor  of  her  hufband.  Mademoifelle  La 
BroufTet,  Madame  de  Stael,  Condorcet,  Paftoret, 
Coigny  and  Theroigne,  were  either  artful  females, 
like  thofe  who  haunted  the  courts  of  former  times, 
or  differed  in  nothing  from  the  vulgar  and  furious 
women  of  the  Fauxbourgs  of  Paris, 

One  unfortunate  woman,  Elizabeth  Corday, 
has  coniigned  her  name  to  hiflory,  by  an  acl, 
which  happily  for  humanity  will  find  few  imi- 
tators, although  it  delivered  the  earth  from  a 
monfter. 

The  executive  council  feemed  to  have  under- 
gone no  change  by  the  retreat  of  Roland  from 
the  mini  {try.  During  a  confiderable  period  be- 
fore his  resignation,  he  had  been  entirely  occu- 
pied in  brooding  over  his  vexations,  the  attacks 
of  his  enemies,  and  the  means  of  his  defence. 
Every  fatire  of  the  Jacobins  that  was  directed 

Q.  againil 


(     "4     ) 

ft  him,  begat  in  his  apprehennon  the  obliga- 
tion of  juilifying  himfelf  to  the  Convention;  and 
the  members  of  the  Convention,  who,  perhaps, 
were  more  irritated  by  the  auiterity  of  Roland's 
virtue,  than  by  the  petulance  of  his  fpirit,  iaw 
nothing  in  thofe  homilies  but  an  infupportabie 
pride.  His  own  party,  no  longer  deriving  repu- 
tation from  his  name,  had,  in  truth,  renounced 
him  ;  and  had  very  ignorantly  refolved  to  iacri- 
fice  him.  Roland  flattered  himfelf  that  his  refig- 
naticn  would  not  be  accepted,  and  he  remained 
in  the  houfe  appropriated  to  the  minifter  of  "the 
Home  Department,  till  he  was  no  longer  per- 
mitted to  doubt  of  his  fate.  During  the  latter 
part  of  his  administration,  he  feldom  flept  in  this 
houfe;  as  the  Jacobins,  to  terrify  him,  frequently 
fent  bands  of  the  foederates  to  make  excursions 
during  the  night  round  the  houfe;  In  this  man- 
ner were  the  reprefentatives  of  the  executive 
power  treated  in  France.  Le  Brun  and  Claviere 
iave  been  lince  accufed  and  imprilbned;  and 
Garat  was  accufed  and  arrefled  after  having  re- 
ligned.  So  ferocious  has  been  the  character  of 
this  revolution  that,  of  the  men  who  have  had  an 
eminent  part  in  it,  fuch  only  have  been  out  of 
the  reach  of  a  violent  death  as  have  fled  and  are 
in  exile. 


C  H  A  P. 


CHAP.     XII. 


Negoctattons  with  Holland  and  England. 


£  R  A  N  C  E,  at  that  period,  had  no  other  de- 
clared enemies  than  Auilria,  Pfuffia,  and  Sar- 
dinia. She  had  difplayed  a  fuperiority  over  thole 
powers  during  the  preceding  campaign,  which 
would  have  been  entirely  decifive,  if,  according 
to  the  plan  of  General  Dumourier,  Cuftine,  in- 
ftead  of  palling  the  Rhine  to  levy  an  incontider- 
able  contribution  on  Frankfort,  and  for  which 
France  paid  fo  dearly,  had  made  himfelf  matter 
of  Coblentz,  where  there  was  no  garrifon;  and  if 
the  wants  of  the  army  had  been  fupplied,  fo  that 
the  army  of  Belgium  might  have  taken  up  its 
winter  quarters  along  the  banks  of  the  Rhine, 
from  Cleves  to  Cologne  ;  that  of  the  Ardennes, 
from  Cologne  to  Andernnch  ;  that  of  the  Mo- 
zelle,  from  Andernach  to  Mayence,  including 
Coblentz  ;  and  that  of  Alface,  from  Mayence  to 
Landau,  including  Spires.  This  petition  would 
have  compelled  the  county  of  Luxembourg  to 
have  furrendered,  by  cutting  off  its  fupplies  of 
proviiions.  The  armies  would  have  had  behind 
them  a  country  on  which,  whether  it  were  neuter 
or  an  enemy,  they  might  long  have  fubiiilecl ;  and, 
by  opening  the  campaign  early  in  the  {pring, 
might  have  palled  the  Rhine  without  difficulty, 
and  have  penetrated  into  the  center  of  Germany, 
where  the  French  would  have  been  received  with 
open  arms,  if  they  had  poffeilVd  the  prudence  to 
have  forborne  from  excitin  terror  in  the  inhabi- 


t::r:ts  by  unj aft  decrees  and  by  the  fending  of  ra- 
pacious commiflioners  to  commit  violence,  iniults 
and  robberies. 

This  great  plan  was  neglected ;  yet  France 
might  have  fnilained  herfelf  with  reputation  and 
effect  againil  her  enemies  who  were  in  truth  al- 
ready overcome,  if  her  conduct  had  not  drawn 
new  enemies  upon  her. 

Means  exiiied,  at  this  period,  for  preferring 
Spain  in  her  neutrality  ,-  and  by  employing  them 
the  nation  would  have  fpared  herfelf  the  guilt  of  a 
great  crime.  The  king  of  Spain  engaged  with 
the  Convention  to  remain  neuter,  on  condition 
that  the  life  of  the  unfortunate  Louis  XVI.  fhould 
be  fpared.  This  llep  does  honour  to  the  Spanifh 
monarch;  and  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  why  the 
French  princes  did  not  follow  fo  bright  an  exam- 
ple. The  implacable,  ignorant  Convention  re- 
jected the  terms  of  the  Spanifli  monarch  with  dif- 
dain,  and  thereby  committed  a  new  crime  againfl 
the  nation,  by  creating  her  a  new  enemy,  without 
confulting  her  on  the  necellity  or  prudence  of 
their  conduct. 

The  courts  of  London  and  the  Hague,  had  for 
feme  time  betrayed  a  hatred  to  the  French  revolu- 
tion; and  the  death  of  Louis  XVI.  could  not 
but  increafe  that  hatred.  But,  in  England,  no 
part  of  the  nation  was  willing  to  enter  into  a  war 
agaimt  France,  excepting  the  king  ,  who  coraiider- 
ed  his  differences  with  the  French  as  a  perfonal 
quarrel.  And  in  Holland,  every  party  dreaded 
to  be  drawn  into  a  war.  It  was  therefore  pcllible 
for  France  to  preferve  peace  with  thofe  two  coun- 
tries; and,  till  that  period,  {he  had  wiiely  culti- 
vated the  good  will  of  Holland,  from  whence 
ihe  drew  fpecie  and  proviiions ;  and  it  was  eafy  to 
have  continued  that  fyitem. 

In  the  latter  end  of  the  month  of  November, 
General  Dumourier  prcpofed  to  the  executive 


council, 


(  11?  ) 

council,  the  taking  of  Maeftricht,  without  which 
he  could  neither  defend  the  Meufe  nor  the  country 
of  Leige.  He  thought  it  reafonable,  after  many 
examples  in  former  wars,  to  take  and  hold  this 
place,  engaging  by  a  duly  authorifed  manifefro, 
to  reftore  it  at  the  end  of  the  war.  At  that  period 
his  army  was  victorious  and  full  of  ardour.  He 
had,  after  the  taking  of  the  citadel  of  Antwerp, 
aflembled  the  whole  of  his  heavy  artillery  at 
Tongres  and  Leige,  in  order  not  to  expofe  the 
horfes  belonging  to  the  artillery  to  die  for  want  of 
forage,  (as  the  Jacobins  have  ftupidly  afferted) 
but  to  make  himfelf  mailer  of  Maeilricht.  That 
place  was  not  as  yet  palifadoed,  nor  provided 
with  a  garrifon,  nor  with  any  thing  neceflary  to 
fuftain  a  fiege.  Venloo  was  in  the  fame  condition. 
Caufes  of  complaint  were  not  wanting  to  give  a 
colour  to  the  enterprize  ;  and  to  throw  the  impu- 
tation of  being  the  aggreilbrs  upon  the  Dutch,  if 
they  fhould  refent  his  conduct,  for  they  had  al- 
ready frequently  violated  the  neutrality,  and  had 
recently  prohibited  on  pain  of  death,  all  exporta- 
tions  of  provifions  to  France,  while  provifions  in 
immenfe  quantities  were  drawn  from  Holland,  to 
eftablim  magazines,  on  the  Lower  Rhine,  for  the 
Imperialiiis  and  PrufTians,  The  executive  coun- 
cil rejected  the  general's  proportions,  and  ex- 
prefsly  commanded  him  to  preferve  the  ftricteft 
neutrality  toward  Holland,  which  injunction  the 
general  was  punctual  in  cbferving.  They  then 
lent  him  an  order  to  undertake  the  fiege  of  Lux- 
embourg during  the  winter;  but,  the  general 
(hewing  the  abfurdity  of  the  plan,  it  was  not  put 
in  execution. 

.As  the  executive  council  had  thus  neglefted  the 
opportunity  of  feizing  upon  Maefmcht,  which 
maybe  regarded  as  the  key  of  the  Nether]  anas  on, 
the  iide  of  the  Meufe,  the  general  was  of  opinion 
that  it  would  no  longer  "be  pvudfiit  to  commit  any 

hoiUlhy 


hollility  on  the  part  of  France  again  ft  Holland, 
being  convinced  that  a  war  with  England  muft  be 
the  confequence  of  fuch  hoftility  ;  and  his  advice 
was  thenceforward  to  preferve  a  neutrality  with 
both  England  and  Holland,  with  the  utmcit 
iolicitude. 

The  friendihip  of  Holland  was  indifpenfibly 
necefihry  to  enable  France  to  hold  Belgium,  for 
if  the  Dutch  delivered  the  paffages  of  Maefcritcht 
and  Yenloo  to  the  Aufirians,  the  Meufe  \vould  be 
no  longer  tenable,  and  the  French  would  be  com- 
pelled to  abandon  the  countries  of  Leige,  Guel- 
dre,  Limbourg,  Brabant,  and  Namur,  and  retreat 
lie-hind  the  Scheld  ;  contracting  their  lines  within 
the  country  lying  between  the  citadel  of  Antwerp 
and  Valenciennes.  And  in  the  cafe  of  the 
Jinglifh  and  Dutch  afiembling  an  army  in  Dutch 
Flanders,  the  French  would  be  further  forced  to 
abandon  the  Scheld,  and  retire  behind  the  river 
Lys,  and  under  the  fortified  places  of  French  Flan- 
ders and  Artois. 

At  this  time  there  were  at  Paris  many  Dutch 
refugees  victims  of  the  Dutch  revolution,  and  of 
the  faithlcfs  and  feeble  conduct  of  the  mini  Her 
Brienne.  Many  among  them  were  refpeclable 
and  opulent  men,  who  allured  the  French  mininry 
that  their  party  in  Holland  was  much  more  confi- 
derable  than  that  of  the  Stadtholder,  which  indeed 
was  true.  Thefe  reprefentations  were  difregarded 
tilHhe  month  of  January,  when  Le  Brun  after 
giving  them  an  hearing,  referred  them  to  General 
Dumourier  for  his  opinion  refpecting  their  re- 
fources,  and  efpecially  reipecling  a  plan  of  inva- 
ding Zealand  which  the  Dutch  patriots  reprefented 
ns  eafy  to  be  undertaken,  and  certain  of  fuccefs. 
Alter  a  deliberate  examination  the  general  judged 
the  plan  to  be  impracticable,  but  wrote  to  the  mi- 
uiilcr  that  he  mould  poftpone  giving  a  definite  an- 
i'v,-er  till  lie  iiiculd  be  at  Antwerp,  and  be  able- 


(     U9     ) 

more  particularly  to  examine  the  feveral  parts  €t 
the  project ;  and  it  was  refolved  that  the  Dutch 
refugees  fhould  proceed  to  Antwerp  with  their 
revolutionary  committee  ;  and  orders  were  given 
to  the  Dutch  legion,  ccnfifting  nearly  or  1 0,000- 
men,  to  garriibn  Antwerp,  and  to  be  ready  to 
form  the  advanced  guard  of  the  French  army,  in 
cafe  of  a  war  with  Holland. 

An  agent  of  Le  Brim  was  appointed  to  attend 
the  Dutch  revolutionary  committee  ;  but  no  poll- 
dve  engagement  with  them  was  entered  into,  and 
all  that  related  to  them  was  rendered  dependent 
on  the  ifYue  of  a  negociation  which  was  then  on  the 
point  of  commencing. 

At  the  time  that  Dumourier  had  been  mmifler 
for  foreign  affairs  he  had  fent  to  the  Hague,  as 
minifter  plenipotentiary,  Emanuel  de  Maulde,  a 
colonel  in  the  French  army,  who  had  conducted 
himfelf  with  great  prudence  and  ability,  had  pro- 
cured arms  and  horfes  for  France,  and  had  fo  well 
reconciled  his  attention  to  the  interells  of  the  re- 
fugees with  the  refped  due  to  the  government  of 
the  country,  as  to  acquire  the  confidence  and 
efleem  of  the  two  factions  that  divided  Holland.. 
This  conduct,  which  was  conformable  to  his  in 
ftrudions,  was  too  moderate  to  be  agreeable  to  .the 
temper  cf  the  prefent  times ;  and  de  Maulde  had 
moreover  the  misfortune  to  be  noble.  Le  Brim 
in  particular  conceived  an  averiioii  to  him.  The 
military  committee  difapproved  of  his  fending 
fufees  to  Dunkirk.  His  meafures  were  oppofed 
on  every  iide,  and  his  intentions  calumniated.  He 
was  recalled  ;  and  in  his  room  was  appointed 
Noel,  whom  the  general  had  made  principal  clerk 
in  the  office  for  foreign  affairs.  Noel,  although 
an  extremely  honeit  man,  arriving  with  prejudices 
againtl  de  Maulde  and  plans  much  lefs  moderate 
than  thofe  on  which  Maulde  had  adecl,  was  very  ill 

received 


C     120     .) 

received ;    and,   attributing    his  reception  to  dc 
Maulde,  became  bis  enemy  and  accufer. 

De  Maulde,  on  his  arrival  at  Paris,  called  upon 
the  general  ;  and  told  him  that,  if  France  defired 
to  preferve  a  neutrality  with  Holland  and  Eng- 
land, nothing  was  more  eafy  ;  that,  although  the 
miniiiers  of  the  two  courts  would  neither  acknow- 
ledge the  National  Convention,  nor  treat  with  Le 
Brun,  yet  the  grand  peniioner  of  Holland,  Van 
Spiegel,  and  the  Englim  Ambafiador,  Lord  Auck- 
land, had  charged  him  to  declare  that  they  would 
willingly  treat  with  General  Dumourier. 

At  the  fame  time,  Benoit,  who  had  been  agent 
of  the  French  miniiiry  at  London,  and  had  jult 
arrived  from  that  place,  informed  Le  Brun  on  the 
part  of  Talleyrand,  late  BHhop  of  Autun,  De 
Talon,  and  other  French  emigrants,  who  had  po- 
litical connections  with  the  Britiih.  miniiiry,  that 
Pitt  and  the  council  of  St.  James's  had  nothing 
more  at  heart  than  to  treat  for  the  prefervation  of 
the  neutrality,  provided  that  General  Dumourier 
fhould  be  charged  with  the  negociation,  and  fhould 
proceed  to  England  for  the  purpofe  of  fettling  its 
terms,  which  he  might  eafily  accomplifh  before 
the  opening  of  the  campaign. 

This  overture  of  the  Englifh  miniiiry  was,  at 
firft,  communicated  to  no  other  perfon  of  the  execu- 
tive council  than  Garat  and  Le  Brun.  Garat, 
who  was  pofiefled  of  a  found  judgment,  zealoufly 
embraced  the  offer,  and  propofed  to  fend  the  ge- 
neral as  ambafiador  extraordinary  to  England, 
without,  however  fuperfeding  Chauvelin,  with  in- 
iiruclions  to  demand  a  deciiive  anfwer  refpecting 
war  or  peace.  The  king's  trial  was  not  yet  con- 
cluded, but  the  cruel  cataflrophe  was  fufficiently 
forefeen  ;  this  circumitance  fuggefted  new  conside- 
rations to  Garat,  who  feared  that  the  Englim  court 
might  be  treacherous  enough  to  detain  Dumou- 
rier in  England,  and  thereby  deprive  France  of 

her 


her  bed  general.  Dumourier  was  compelled  to 
difiernble  that  he  alfo  law  the  probability  of  that 
event,  and  that  it  was  the  only  thing  he  dehred. 
In  order  that  he  might  efcape  from  the  hands  of 
the  mifcreants  who  governed  his  country,  he 
appeared  to  fubfcribe  to  the  prudence  of  Garat's 
precaution.  It  was  however,  determined  that  the 
affair  fliould  be  laid  before  the  council,  and  a  pro- 
petition  be  made  by  Carat  to  fend  General  Dumou- 
rier as  Ambaffador  extraordinary  to  London,  in 
confequence  of  the  overtures  made  by  the  minif- 
ters  of  England  and  Holland ;  to  give  the  Gene- 
ral i  nil  ructions  to  conduct  the  negociation  with 
fuitable  dignity  and  promptitude,  and  whatever 
might  be  the  ifTue,  to  return  inilantly  to  put  him- 
felf  at  the  head  of  the  armies.  It  was  refplved  to 
demand  from  the  Englifh  miniftry  every  pofli- 
ble  fecurity  for  the  perfon  of  General  Dumourier, 
and  for  the  full  liberty  of  returning  at  his  pleafure. 

When  the  proportion  was  laid  before  the  coun- 
cil, Ciaviere,  Pache  and  Monge  oppofed  it  in  the 
molt  decided  manner,  undoubtedly  incited  by  jea- 
loufy  and  love  of  oppofition,  for  they  well  knew  the 
diiirefs  of  their  refpeclive  departments  and  their 
incapability  of  fupporyng  a  war  that  would  be- 
come fo  general. 

Dumourier  was  extremely  afflicted  with  the  fate 
of  a  meafure  which  feemed  to  have  promifed  his 
deliverance,  as  well  as  an  important  occafion  of 
ferving  his  country  ;  but  he  was  not  difcouraged. 
He  was  of  the  opinion  of  Garat  and  Le  Brun  that 
the  defign  fliould  not  be  difcufled  any  more  in  the 
council,  but  profecuted  fecretly  till  it  fhouid  be 
in  a  ftate  to  infure  fuccefs.  It  was  agreed  that 
de  Maulcle  (liould  depart  inftantly  for  the  Hague, 
under  the  pretence  of  his  private  concerns  ;  that 
Noel  mould  be  recalled  and  placed  elfewhere  ;  that 
the  General  fliould  charge  de  Maulde  with  a  letter 
for  Lord  Auckland,  informing  him  that  the  Gene- 

R  ral 


(      122      ) 

ral  would  be  at  Antwerp  on  the  ift  of  February  to 
viiit  his  troops  in  their  winter  quarters,  and  that 
having  learnt  from  de  Maulcle,  his  friend,  that 
Lord  Auckland  had  fpoken  of  him  with  efteem  and 
confidence,  it  would  be  a  circumftance  of  great 
plea  lure  to  him  if  an  opportunity  {hor.ld  offer  of 
meeting  that  nobleman  on  the  frontiers,  and  that 
perhaps  this  interview  might  be  beneficial  to  the 
mterefts  of  the  two  nations,  and  the  caufe  of  hu- 
manity. It  was  alfo  determined  that,  mould  Lord 
Auckland  receive  this  invitation  with  the  good 
will  that  was  to  be  expefted,  the  General  mould 
give  him  a  meeting,  and  might  even  if  it  was 
found  neceiTary  pals  into  England. 

It  was  further  decided,  that  Maret,  who  had 
already  been  ieveral  times  in  England,  mould  be 
lent  to  London,  to  learn  from  Mr.  Pitt  if  he  really 
defired  to  treat  perfonally  with  General  Dumou- 
rier.  Chauvelin,  minifter  plenipotentiary  of 
France  to  the  court  of  London,  did  not  at  all  ac- 
cord with  Talleyrand,  who  had  been  lent  with  him 
as  an  advertifer  in  his  negociation,  and  .  had  not 
at  all  fucceeded  in  the  object  of  his  embafly,  which 
he  was  ambitious  of  conducting  without  the  parti- 
cipation of  his  colleague.  Many  indeed  were  the 
ebftacles  Chauvelin  had  to  encounter;  he  had 
againft  him  the  prejudices  of  the  Engliih  nation  ; 

the  king  of  England,  the  moil- *  in  Europe, 

and  the  moft  enraged  againft  the  French  Revolu- 
tion ;  the  French  emigrants  ;  the  perfons  who  had 
been  given  him  as  advertifers  and  affiftants  ;  the 
National  Convention  of  France  ;  and  his  own  in- 
experience. It  was  thought  neceffary  if  Dumou- 
rier's  journey  fhould  take  place  to  iacrifice  Chau- 
velin, or  rather  to  give  him  fome  other  embafiy  ; 
for  Dumourier,  who  had  been  the  intimate  friend 
•of  his  father,  and  had  given  him  the  appoint- 

*  Defpotique. 

mem 


ment  to  England,  infilled  that  he  fhould  be  fent  to 
Venice  or  Florence,  that  he  might  continue  his 
diplomatic  career  with  fuccefs. 

It  appears  to  be  but  j aft  to  fay  a  word  here  of 
the  diipoiition  that  Dumourier  has  always  difplayed 
in  his  public  character. 

Whether  it  were  the  effect  of  good  nature,  or  of 
a  fenfe  of  juftice,  he  has  been  anxious  not  to  pre- 
judice the  interefts  of  any  other  perfon  in  the  pub- 
lic employment,  and  has  obliged  and  ferved  great 
numbers  ;  and  of  courfe  it  is  not  greatly  furpri- 
ling,  that  he  has  met  with  much  ingratitude, 

Chauvelin,  as  it  has  been  faid,  was  to  be  recalled, 
and  Ma  ret  was  to  be  appointed  to  his  fituation, 
on  the  general's  departure  from  London  ;  fo  that 
Maret  was  extremely  interefted  in  the  fuccefs  of 
the  negociation,  and  had  ftrong  motives  for 
fmoothing  the  difficulties  that  might  be  in  the  ge- 
neral's way,  and  thereby  to  render  his  ftay  at  ths 
.court  of  London  as  iliort  aspoflible. 


CHAP.     XIII. 


Departure  of  de  Maulde,  of  Maret,  and.  of  General 
T^umouricr  jrom  Paris. 


purfiiance  of  thefe  plans,  Ernanuel  do  MauLio, 
proceeded  to  the  Hague,  although  the  death  of  the: 
king,  which  happened  while  they  were  in  agita- 
tion, feemed  to  be  an  event  entirely  deiliudive  of 
them  ;  for  the  certainty  that  Holland  was  eager  to 
preferve  peace  induced  Carat  and  Le  Brun  to  be- 
lieve that  ail  refentment  excited  by  that  horrible 

calaftrophe 


(      '24      ) 

cslaftrophe  would  yield  to  the  great  object  of  pre- 
ferring peace,  and  they  were  not  deceived. 

Marel's  departure  was  unwifely  poflponed,  (tak- 
ing place  only  on  the  fame  day  that  General  Du- 
mourier  left  Paris)  under  pretence  of  firft  found- 
ing Mr.  Pitt  refpeding  the  General's  journey  to 
England,  by  the  means  of  one  of  his  friends,  who 
had  already  been  employed  in  the  fame  capacity  en 
a  former  occalion  by  Maret.  But  the  General  had 
reafon  to  believe  that  Le  Brun,  offended  that  the 
Court  of  St.  James's  would  neither  treat  with  him 
as  miniiier  of  foreign  affairs,  nor  with  the  Conven- 
tion, was  not  forry  to  undermine  this  negotiation 
by  giving  fcope  to  the  rafh  ignorance  of  BriiTct, 
and  the  folly  of  the  diplomatic  committee,  who 
feeming  to  think  that  France  had  not  enemies 
enough  to  contend  with,  fludied  to  increafe  the 
number,  by  infulting  every  nation. 

Maret's  million  was  altogether  unfuccefsful, 
Chauvelin  had  never  been  acknowledged  in  Eng- 
land as  miniiier  of  the  Republic,  the  Court  of  St. 
James  having  confidered  his  mifFion  at  an  end  on 
the  abolition  of  Royalty  in  France,  and  having 
permitted  his  fray  in  London  merely  as  an  indul- 
gence granted  to  an  individual.  And  when  the 
news  of  the  cruel  death  of  Louis  XVI.  arrived  in 
England,  Chauvelin  was  ordered  to  quit  London 
in  four  and  twenty  hours,  and  the  kingdom  in 
eight  days.  It  was  under  thefe  circumftances  that 
Maiet  arrived  in  England,  and  received  an  order 
from  the  council  inftantly  to  quit  the  kingdom. 

But  this  reception  of  Maret  by  the  Court  of 
St.  James's,  did  not  put  a  itop  to  the  negotiation 
in  Holland.  General  Dumourier  departed  from 
Paris,  on  the  26th  of  January,  with  a  mind  filled 
with  appreheniions  ;  he  had  not  been  able  to  pre- 
vent the  commiiiion  of  an  unprovoked,  fruitlefs, 
difgraceful,  and  fatal  crime  ;  he  had  net  fuccecd- 
ed  in  procuring  a  revocation  of  the  decree  of  the 


J  5th  December,  nor  in  obtaining  an  exception  in 
behalf  of  Belgium,  and  thereby  to  preferve  the 
French  army  in  cafe  of  retreat;  nor  in  eilablifh- 
ing  an  effective  adminiftration  for  the  fupply  of 
arms,  fubfiftence,  &c.  for  the  army  ;  nor  in  his 
attempts  to  procure  the  neceflary  repairs  of  the 
fortified  places,  reinforcements  of  the  armies, 
horfes  for  the  cavalry,  or  any  of  that  multitude 
of  objecls,  the  fupply  of  which  was  necefiary  to 
the  opening  of  the  campaign  ;  nor  (which  in  every 
cafe  was  the  greateft  of  his  afflictions)  to  fave  an 
innocent  king,  whofe  goodnefs  was  peribnally 
known  to  him.  He  was  about  to  refume  the  com- 
mand of  a  diforganifed  army,  abandoning  itlelf 
to  robberies,  and  every  fpecies  of  excefs,  ill  arm- 
ed, in  want  of  cloathing,  and  difperfed  in  the 
impoverifhed  villages  along  the  Meufe,  and  the 
Roer.  New  troops  were  daily  arriving  from 
Germany  to  augment  the  army  of  General  Clair- 
fait,  who  with  great  capacity  had  made  a  (land, 
and  maintained  himfelf  between  the  Herffle  and 
the  Roer  with  a  comparatively  fmall  number  of 
troops,  in  want  of  every  thing,  and  terrified  at 
the  rapacity  with  which  the  conquell  of  Belgium 
had  been  accomplifhecl :  That  general  having 
counteracted  all  the  ill  efiecls  of  their  long  re- 
treat. 

The  Prince  of  Cobourg,  celebrated  for  his  glo- 
rious campaign  againft  the  Turks,  was  about  to 
take  the  command  of  this  army.  In  the  cafe  of 
Dumourier  waiting  till  the  Prince  of  Cobourg 
fhould  attack  him,  he  was  well  aflured  that  he 
could  not  refill  that  General  in  front,  and,  at  the 
lame  time,  the  Prince  of  Hohenloe,  who  would  at- 
tack him  on  his  right  flank  by  Namur,  the  citadel 
of  which  was  then  repairing  very  flowly  by  the 
French  ;  and  if  the  EngiHh  and  Dutch  mould  have 
time  to  alVemble  an  army  on  his  left  flank,  en  the 
fide  ol  Aip.verp  and  Dutch  Flanders,  even  the  re- 
treat 


C     126     ) 

treat  of  Dumonrier  would  no  longer  be  fecure, 
Laving  to  march  through  fifty  leagues  of  flat  coun-* 
try,  with  a  diforderly  army,  purfuecl  and  almoft 
furrounded  by  three  armies  more  coniiderable 
than  his  own,  and  continually  affailed  by  the  Pea- 
fants  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  cities,  whom,  the 
exceffes  committed  by  order  of  the  Convention, 
had  driven  to  defperation.  Deneral  Dumourier, 
therefore  had  no  other  hope  of  diminifhing  his 
perplexities,  but  the  negociation  committed  to  the 
care  of  de  Maulde.  In  truth,  his  confidence  in 
that  was  conficterable,  iince  Holland  had  the  ut- 
mofr.  dread  of  a  rupture  with  France,  being  quite 
unprepared  for  it,  and  having  the  greateft  interefl 
in  the  prefervation  of  the  neutrality. 

We  are  about  to  give  an  account  of  the  furl  her 
circumilances  of  this  negociation,  which  was  bro- 
ken off  in  the  beginning  of  February,  by  the  un- 
wife  and  haughty  impetuofity  of  the  National  Con- 
vention. The  abrupt  declaration  of  war,  made  by 
that  AiTembly  againft  England  and  Holland,  gave 
France  an  air  of  perfidy,  refpecling  that  negocia- 
tion with  which  the  Engiifh  have  reproached  them 
with  fome  appearance  of  reafon  ;  but  the  fame 
charge  may  be  retorted  on  the  EnglHh,  and  it  is 
probable  that  Pitt  had  no  other  defign  than  to 
amufe  General  Dumourier,  to  gain  time  to  make 
the  neceffary  preparatives  for  war  ;  and  the  treaty 
entered  into  by  the  Court  of  St.  James's  with  the 
court  of  Turin,  at  that  very  period,  confirms  the 
opinion.  So  much  truth  is  there  in  the  obferva- 
tion,  that  hiilory  is  but  a  picture  of  the  errors  and 
crimes  of  government, 


C  II  A  P. 


C  II  A  P.    XIV. 


Frultiefs  Negotiations.     Declaration  of  ffiar. 

IMMEDIATELY  on  the  arrival  of  de  Maulde  at 
the  Hague,  which  was  in  the  latter  end  of  January, 
he  prefented  General  Dumourier's  letter  to  Lord 
Auckland,  who  teilified  the  greateft  pleafure  to  cle 
Maulde  on  reading  it,  and  told  him  that  the  in- 
terefts  of  England  and  Holland  being  infeparable 
in  this  affair,  he  Ihould  communicate  the  propofal 
to  Van  Spiegle  ;  which  was  no  fooner  clone,  than 
the  latter  embraced  the  project  of  a  conference  on 
the  frontiers  between  the  Ambafiador  of  England, 
the  Grand  Peniioner,  and  General  Dumourier. 

Lord  Auckland  difpatched  three  packet  boats, 
immediately  fucceeding  each  other,  to  his  court, 
and  de  Maulde  fent  his  fecretary  to  Antwerp, 
where  the  General  had  arrived  on  the  2d  of  Fe- 
bruary, after  having  viiited  the  polls  from  Dun- 
kirk to  Antwerp. 

Throughout  Picardy,  Artois,  and  maritime 
Flanders,  Dumourier  found  the  people  overwhelm- 
ed with  terror  and  grief,  at  the  tragical  death  of 
Louis  XVI,  The  very  name  of  Jacobin,  he  per- 
ceived, excited  equal  fear  and  horror.  In  all  the 
cities,  however,  there  were  numerous  emiiTaries 
of  the  Jacobins,  who  flirred  up  the  populace 
againft  the  moderate  and  wife  part  of  the  citizens, 
and  collected  accufations,  little  regarding  whether 
true  or  falie,  againft  the  different  adminiiirators  of 
the  departments. 

At  St.  Orners  and  Dunkirk,  there  was  not  the 
lead:  appearance  of  preparations  being  made  for  the 

war, 


(     128     ) 

war,  and  there  were  fcarcely  any  troops  to  be  feen* 
for  the  miniiter  of  war  had  weakened  maritime 
Flanders  to  furnifh  the  augmentation  of  1 0,000 
foot  and  1500  cavalry,  for  the  army  in  Auftrian 
Flanders,  in  conlequence  of  the  General's  having 
demanded  that  reinforcement.  The  minifter  of 
war  even  drew  new  battalions  afterwards  from  this 
country,  which  was  part  of  the  actual  feat  of  the 
war,  to  form  a  body  of  12, ooo  men  near  Cher- 
bourg, from  whence  the  General  had  obferved  a 
diveriion  might  be  made  into  England,  in_cafe 
war  with  that  power  could  not  be  avoided. 

Nieuport  and  Oftend,  were  in  the  fame  condi- 
tion as  St.  Omers  and  Dunkirk,  not  having  a  iin- 
gle  battery  mounted,  to  prevent  any  vefiels  of  war 
entering  thofe  ports.  There  were  not  even  can- 
non for  the  purpofe  ;  nor  could  any  be  obtained, 
without  taking  them  from  Dunkirk,  which  had  not 
fufficient  for  its  own  fortifications. 

Durnourier  (truck  with  the  diforder  that  perva- 
ded the  whole  country,  and  feeing  that  his  embar- 
raiTments  every  moment  increafed,  was  greatly  fa- 
tisfied  with  the  fir  it  fuccefs  of  cle  Maulde's  nego- 
ciation.  He  inilantly  difpatched  a  courier  to  Le 
Bran,  with  the  original  anfwer  of  Lord  Auckland, 
which  Hated  that  the  Britifh  miniiler  and  the 
grand  Penfionary  of  Holland,  had  agreed  to  pro- 
ceed together  to  the  frontiers  to  confer  with  the 
General  ;  that  Lord  Auckland  had  fent  feveral  dif- 
patches  to  his  court,  to  obtain  its  fanclion,  and  in- 
itruclicns  relative  to  the  conference  ;  that  he 
(lioulcl  foon  receive  an  anfwer,  and  that  his  inten- 
tions were  not  to  gain  time,  nor  to  retard  the 
General's  preparations  for  the  campaign. 

The  difpatches  of  de  Maulde,  which  accompa- 
nied thofe  of  Lord  Auckland,  gave  an  account  of 
the  circumitances  of  his  interview  with  the  Britifh 
minifler,  and  the  grand  Penfionary  of  Holland. 
Thofe  miniiters,  as  de  Maulde  was  prepared  to 

find 


find,  expired  the  utter  abhorrence  of  the  atro- 
cious barbarity  recently  committed  at  Paris ;  but 
as  de  Maulde  gave  them  pofitive  aflurances  that  the 
General  partook 'of  their  fehtiments  en  that  iub- 
jecl,  and  was  filled  with  the  profoundell  indigna- 
tion againft  the  authors  of  the  crime,  th;*t  horrible 
affair  did  not  retard  the  negotiation;  and  it  was  fet- 
tled without  any  difficulty,  that  as  foon  as  Lord 
Auckland  mould  have  received  the  inii  ructions  of 
his  court,  the  conference  mould  take  place  at  the 
Moor  Dyke,  on  board  a  yatch  belonging  to  the 
Prince  of  Orange,  which  would  be  prepared  to  re- 
ceive the  General.  De  Maulde  concluded  by  de- 
claring his  perfaaiion,  that  the  conference  would 
be  attended  with  the  greateft  fuccefs. 

The  General  entertained  the  fame  hopes,  and 
had  prefcribed  to  Iiimfelf  the  plan  he  thought  it  his 
duty  to  follow.  He  relblved  not  to  betray  the  in- 
terells  of  his  unhappy  country  ;  on  the  contrary, 
it  was  his  intention  to  diminifh  the  number  of  her 
enemies,  in  fettling  the  neutrality  of  England  and 
Holland  on  a  fure  bails ;  but,  after  he  mould  have 
rendered  this  lad  of  his  fervices  to  France,  he 
refolved  to  free  himfelf  from  the  imputation  of 
partaking  in  the  crime  of  his  countrymen,  and  no 
longer  to  fight  for  abfurd  tyrants  whom  he  was 
anxious  to  puniih,  inftead  of  aiding  in  the  fupport 
of  their  hideous  tyranny.  He  did  not  deiign 
therefore  to  return  to  Antwerp  but  to  retire  to  the 
Ihgue,  and  from  thence  to  'publ'ifh  a  memorial  in 
juilification  of  his  conduct. 

lie  unfolded  a  part  of  thefe.defigns  in  a  letter  to 
de  Maulde,  which  was  communicated  to  the'.twp 
rmniilers.  They  requeued  leave  .to  take  a  copy  of 
it,  bat  cle  Maulde  decliiied  granting  that  permiiiion; 
being  unauthorifcd  by  his  friencf;  .but  at  the  fame 
time  he  delivered  Lord  Auckland'-*  letter  from  the 
General,  informing  that  minifler  that  he  fhouid 

r-eceive 
S 


(      130     ) 

receive  with  great  pleafure  news  of  the  fanclion  ojf 
the  Britiih  court  to  thefe  meafures. 

At  the  moment  when  the  negociation  was  in 
this  promiiing  flate<  while  the  General  confoled 
himfelf  with  the  hope  of  being  fre^ed  from  the  in- 
fupportable  yoke  of  combating  for  tyrants,  under 
the  certainty  of  becoming  one  day  the  viclim  of 
their  ingratitude  and  cruelty,  whatever  might  be 
his  fuccefs  ;  while  he  thus  flattered  himfelf,  on  the 
7th  of  February  he  learnt  by  the  public  papers 
that  the  National  Convention  had  declared  war 
againft  Holland  and  England,  on  a  report  made 
by  Briffot  in  the  name  of  the  diplomatic  commit- 
tee. This  news  reduced  him  to  defpair,  for  it 
was  altogether  unexpected.  He  had  quitted  Pa- 
ris on  the  26th  of  January ;  had  arrived  at  An- 
twerp, only  on  the  2d  of  February  ;  Le  Brim* 
then,  had  not  waited  to  receive  his  firft  difpatches, 
nor  intelligence  refpedting  de  Maulde's  negocia- 
tion. It  ieems  that  Le  Brim  had  precipitated  the 
report  of  the  affront  offered  to  the  Republic  in  the 
perfon  of  Chauvelin,  by  order  of  the  king  of  Eng- 
gland,  to  excite  the  anger  of  the  thoughtlefs  Con- 
vention, and.  thereby  raife  an  infurmountable  ob~ 
fiacle  to  the  meafures  he  had  concerted  with  the 
General. 

As  to  Briffot,  he  had,  as  was  ufual  with  him, 
availed  himfelf  of  this  opportunity  of  infulting 
both  kings  and. people,  in  which  lie  was  zealoufly 
feconcled  by  Barrere  and  the  Jacobins.  Thus  the 
'two  factions  united  in  taking  a  moft  difaftrous  ilep 
without  dikullion  and  without  consideration. 

The  war 'was  declared,  but  Le  Brun  fent  no  in- 
telligence to  General  Bumourier,  on  whom  th^ 
burthen  felFwitli  the  greateft  weight,  and  little  en- 
quiry was  made  in  the  council,  whether  he  was  at 
all  in  a  condition  ^o  fupport  himfelf  againft  thefe 

V  4 

On 


C    131    ) 

On  the  day  that  General  Dumourier,   heard  of 
the  declaration  of  war  againfl  England  and  Hol- 
land, de  Maulde  arrived   at   Antwerp   from   the 
Hague,  with  a  fecond  letter  from  Lord  Auckland, 
congratulating  him  an  having  received  an  autho- 
rity from  his  court  to  enser  on  the  conference, 
which  was  fixed  to  commence  on  the  l  oth,  at  the 
Moor  Dyke.      The  General  inftantly  difpatched  a 
courier,  informing  Lord  Auckland  of  the  declare 
tion  of  war  ;  and  obferving,  that  although  he  muft 
admit  the  declaration  of  war  to  have  been  a  little 
abrupt,  he  muft  obferve  it  had  been  occafioned  by 
the  conduct  of  the  Englifh  Miniflry  ;  firfi,  in  de- 
taining two  French  veflels  laden  with  corn,  not- 
wit  hi/landing  the  remonft  ranees  of  the  French  mir- 
niftry  to  the  contrary  ;  fecondly,   in  contempts 
oufly  ordering  the  French  AmbafTador  to  quit  the 
kingdom,  while   a  negociation   was  pending  be- 
tween the  two  nations  ;  and  thirdly,  in    caufing 
Lord  Auckland  to  publifh,  on  the  2d  of  February, 
an  addrefs  to  the  States  General,  which  was  an  in- 
fult  to  the  French  nation,  and  equivalent  to  a  de-r 
claration  of  war. 

The  General  had  alfo  caufes  of  complaint  againfl: 
the  Grand  Penfionary  Van  Spiegle.  He  had  in 
vain  demanded  of  him  the  liberation  of  Colonel 
Micoud,  a  French  officer,  who,  after  gaining  a 
eonfiderable  law-fuit  againfl  a  merchant  in  Hol- 
land, had  been  thrown  into  priibn,  through  the 
credit  of  the  merchant,  on  a  vague  accufation  of 
having  fpoken  too  freely  of  the  government.  He 
had  driven  a  troop  df  French  comedians  from 
Amfterdam  without  even  granting  them  time  to 
collecl  the  fums  due  to  them  ;  he  had  permitted 
Noel  the  French  mirjifter  at  the  Hague,  and 
Thainville,  his  fecretary,  to  be  infulted  by  fhe 
emigrants,  and  had  afterwards  abruptly  ordered 
them  to  quit  the  country  ;  he  had  allowed  the 
£rriigrant$  to  appear  in  military  uniforms  at  the 

S        • 


Hague  ;  and  finally  had  fuffered  the  grealeft  enmi- 
ty to  be  expreffed  againft  France  with  impunity. 

It  is  certain  that  the  conduct  of  the  courts  of.St, 
James's  and  the   Hague  was  inexpiable,  iince  iu 
the  rnidil  of  a  negociation  entered  into  (in  coi 
quence  of  overtures  from  themielves)  with.  Gene- 
ral Dumourier,  whom  they  had  demanded  to  con- 
dud  the  negociation,  they  had  provoked  the  anger 
of  the  National  Convention,  whom  they  knew  to 
be  haughty  and  impatient,  and  incapable  of  a  tem- 
perate conduct.  It  is  but  juft  therefore  to  reproach 
them  as  well  as  the  French  with  the  evils  refulting 
from  this  war,  which  is  to  be  confidered  as  only  in. 
its  beginning,  and  which  will  be  the  fource  of 
other  equally  deftructive  wars. 

It  may  be  faid,  that  providence  has  united  all, 
the  people  of  Europe  to  inflidt  a  puniihment  on, 
the  enormous  crimes  committed  by  the  French 
nation;  and  perhaps  to  punifh  their  own  errors  by 
the  calamities  they  will  have  to  endure  in  this  long, 
afflicting  and  bloody  conteft.  The  Atheifts  of  the 
National  Convention,  and  thefe  are  the  moil:  ig- 
norant and  wicked  of  the  members,,  becaufe  it  Is. 
not  through  the  influence  of  philofophy  that  they 
have  become  Atheifts,  but  through  the  influence 
of  their  crimes,  have  confidered  what  the  General 
has  faid  to  them  refpecling  Providence  in  his  let- 
ter of  the  12th  of  March,  as  an  unmeaning  rhapfp- 
dy  ;  to  fuch  men  he  has  to  anfwer,  that  Provi- 
dence leaves  us  free  to  make  a  virtuous  or  vicious 
choice,  but  that  from  the  firft  choice  neceffarily  re- 
fults  the  character  of  our  actions,  good  or  bad  ; 
that^vhiclx  is  juft  is  alone  true  ;  that  which  is  un- 
juft  is  the  effect  of  error  in  the  rnind  ;  that  this  is 
above,  all  true  with  reipecl  to  governments ;  and 
that  juitice  conduces  nations  to  happinefs,  and  in- 
juftice  to  mifery;  that  when  a  nation  is  aniverfally 
infecl-cd  with  a  licentious  fpirit,  as  is  the  cafe  with 
France,  all  her  motives  and  action^  tend  to  her 

ruin  ; 


(     133     ) 

ruin ;  hence  the  fame  phrenzy  which  induced 
France  to  commit  the  fruitlefs  crime  of  murdering 
Louis  XVI.  and  of  treating  his  family  as  a  herd  of 
(laves,  dictated  the  decree  of  the  15th  of  Decem- 
ber, which  is  equally  devoid  of  juftice  and  policy, 
which  has  loft  the  nation  the  good- will  of  every 
people  who  were  attached  to  her,  has  infufed  di- 
viiions  into  her  councils,  familiarifed  her  with  ac- 
cufations,  robberies,  and  maifacres,  has  begotten 
her  filthinefs  and  groffnefs  of  manners  ;  her  wan- 
tonnefs  in  creating  of  enemies,  and  indifference  to 
the  means  of  refilling  them  ;  and*in  fine  her  anar- 
chy and  total  want  of  order,  which  has  already  in- 
iiicted  upon  her  the  firft  puniihments  of  that  long 
feries  that  awaits  her.  For  from  the  moment  that 
France  became  a  Republic  ,  Ihe  degenerated  into 
the  moft  unfortunate  country  that  the  annals  of 
the  world  have  produced. 

We  will  conclude  this  book  with  a  melancholy 
reflection  on  the  condition  to  which  France  has 
reduced  herfelf  by  her  errors  ;  me  had  been  pre- 
fented  with  a  conftitution  formed  in  a  fhort  and 
difficult  period  by  her  firft  legiftature,  which  was 
not  indeed  perfect  but  highly  valuable,  and  which 
every  people  of  Europe  admired  and  envied.  The 
two  factions  that  exifted  in  France,  in  combating 
each  other,  neverthelefs  were  of  one  mind  to  de- 
ftroy  this  conftitution.  The  court  hoped  to  re- 
cover its  former  power  and  numerous  means  of 
gratifications  ;  and  the  Jacobins  entirely  to  beat 
down  royalty,  which  they  hated,  but  which  was  fp 
necefTary  to  the  happinefs  of  Frenchmen  ;  and 
while  the  conftitution  was  a* theme  of  praife  with 
all  reafonable  men  in  other  parts  of  Europe,  the 
French  blamed,  fpurned  and  rejected  it.  But  the 
merits  of  the  conftitution  were  unknown  to  the 
people  of  France,  for  they  never  permitted  them- 
felves  to  judge  of  it  but  through  the  medium  of 
their  furious  pailions. 

END     OF    THE     FIRST     PART, 


MEMOIRS 


GENERAL  DUMOURIER, 


WRITTEN    BY    HIMSELF. 


.  •  .  .  VITAM   QJJI  IMPENDERE  VERO, 


TRANSLATED  BY  JOHN  FENWICK, 


PART    II. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

PRINTED    SY     SAMUEL     HARRISON     SMITH, 
CHERRY-STREET,  ABOVE   FOURTH-STREET, 

1794, 


CONTENTS 

OF    THE 

SECOND      PART. 

C  H  A  P.     I.  Page 

Plan  of  the  Campaign.  14  j: 

CHAP.     II. 

I 

Preparations  for  the  Expedition  again/I  Holland. 
Orders  to  the  grand  Army.  Advice  given  by  Ge- 
neral Dumourier  to  the  Minifler  of  War.  Gene- 
ral Thouvenot  and  the  Com?nifjrary  Petit- Jean  at 
Antzuerp.  Orders  for  the  raifing  of  Battalions  in 
Belgium.  General  Valence  at  Antwerp.  Loan. 
Manifejlp.  -  148 

C  H  A  P,     III. 

^ffembling  the  Army.  Its  Amount.  Firft  Move- 
ments. General  Dumourier  j  meeting  with  the  Swe- 
difh  Ambajfador.  Taking  of  Breda,  Klundert, 
andGertruydenberg.  Siege  of  Williamjladt.  Block- 
fide  of  Bergen-op-£oom,  and  Steenberg.  Sunnnons 
given  to  Heufden.  General  Dumourier  at  the  Moor 
Dyke.  Preparations  for  faffing  to  Dortt  by  the 
Moor-Dyke  and  Roowaert.  Second  Project  of 
pajfing  by  Gertruydenberg.  The  General  receives 
Orders  to  join  the  Grand  Army :  Departs.  Inflruc- 
tions  given  to  General  de  Flers*  -  "  T57 

CHAP,     IV. 

The  General  arrives  at  Antiuerp.  Sends  the  Agents 
of  the  Executive  Power  from  that  Town.  Arrives 
at  Eruffels.  Addreffes  the  Reprefeniatives  of  the 
People.  Writes  to  the  Convention.  Arrejls  Chepy, 
and  Eflienne.  Several  Proclamations.  Arrives 
en  the  i^th  of  March  at  Louvain.  The  Commijji- 
oners  of  the  Convention  come  to  that  City  to  meet 
the  General.  -  -  -  -  -  *•  i  ^4 

CHAP.     V. 

State  of  the  Army.  Its  Pofition.  The  General's  Or- 
ders to  the  different  Divifio-ns.  He  refolvts  to  give 
Battle  to  the  Enemy.  -  -  *  -  i So 


CONTENTS. 

CHAP.    VI. 

Battle  ef  Nerzvinde  -         193 

C  II  A  P.     VII. 
Retreat  of  the  ityth  of  March.  Action  ofGotzcnhovcn.  199 

C  H  A  P.     VIII. 

Retreat  of  the.  2Oth  and  2  ijl  of  Marc &.  Engagement 
of  Neerwelpe.  La  Croix  and  Danton  at  Louvain. 
Engagement  cf  t/ie  22 d  of  March.  -  -  303 

CHAP.    IX. 

Retreat  to  Bruffels.  Evacuation  of  Eru/fels.  C&mp 
of  Enghien.  Camp  of  Ath.  Conference  at  Ath 
withCoionel  Mack.  The  Arrejt  cf  General  Miianda.  209 

CHAP.  X. 

Camp  of  Tournay.  -         -         215 

CHAP.  XI. 

Retreat  to  the  Camp  of  Ma ulde.  -                          218 

C  H  A  P.  XII. 

Arrcft  of  the  Commiffioners  of  the  Convention,  Camus, 
La  Marque,  Bancat,  and  Qumette  ;  and  of  Bcur- 
ncnville,  Minijler  of  War.  -  227 

C  H  A  P.     XIII. 

Attempt  to  ajfqj/inate  General  Dumourier  on  the  %tk 
of  April.  'Events  of  the  $th  oj  April.  Depar- 
ture of  General  Dumoinier.  -  -  238 

C  H  .A  P.     XIV. 

Dumourier  at  Mons.  Ejlattiftnnent  of  the  French 
at  Leuze.  Congrefs  of  Antwerp.  Second  pro- 
clamation of  the  Prince  of  Cobourg.  Departure 
of  the  General  for  Brufels.  -  248 

CHAP.     XV. 

Condufion.  253 


MEMOIR  s 


GENERAL    DUMOURIER. 


FOR      THE     YEAR 


BOOK     IL 

CHAP.    I. 

Plan  of  the  Campaign. 

E  are  now  entering  upon  the  hiftory  of  a  campaign 
more  rapid,  more  varied,  and  perhaps  more  important, 
in  its  events,  than  any  of  former  or  later  times.  The 
nature  of  the  campaign  was  not  forefeen  till  the  firft  week 
of  February  ;  the  plan  was  conceived  and  arranged  be- 
tween the  -/th  and  the  22d  of  that  month  ;  and  the  cam- 
paign finiihed  on  the  5th  of  the  following  April. 

The  hiftory  of  this  fhort  period,  offers  to  the  contem- 
plation of  the  military  man,  Cities  taken  in  defiance  of 
of  immenfe  innundations,  a  great  battle,  a  variety  of  en- 
gagements, and  a  retreat  which  excited  the  aftonifhment 
of  the  generals  of  the  enemy,  aad  from  which  they  could 
not  withhold  their  praife  t  It  exhibits  an  example  of 
the  two  fpecies  of  war,  the  ofFenfive,  and  defenfive  : 
And  it  may  be  laid  to  have  involved  confequences  that 
will  decide  the  fate  of  France,  and  perhaps  that  of 
Europe. 

Nor  is  this  hiftory  lefs  interefting  to  the  philofopher, 
whom  it  will  confirm  in  the  opinion,  that  the  deftiny  of 
empires  is  often  dependent  on  circumftances  that  are 
apparently  inconfiderable  ;  and  that  the  character  and 
fortune  of  one  man  may  decide  the  fate  of  a  nation.  In 
sfce  preceding  year,  General  Dumourier  had  preferved 
U  *he 


flic  independence  of  France,  by  hi?  fi;c<~cfs  in  tne  plainsof 
Champagne,  and  rendered  her  name  illuftrious  in  thofe 
of  Belgium  :  for,  at  that  p'jr'u;H,  the  greatucfs  (-1  the 
danger. Which  threatened  France  united  $11  njincls  under 
Ills  ilnmiard.  and  compelled  the  nation  to  di<plny  her 
energy  under  the  direction  of  hi:  '-ornfJb.  In  the  pe- 
riod we  are  now  confidcriuc,  the  I'itiulion  and  character 
of  the  French  people  were  changed.  The  nation  or 
rather  thofe- who  governed  and  iniiled  the  nation,  intox- 
icated with  fuccefs,  and  blinded  by  their  crimes,  no  lon- 
ger liftened  to  the  general,  who  would  now  have  fa ved 
his  countrymen,  both  from  a  foreign  yoke,  and  from 
the  tyranny  of  their  own  miitaken  paflions. 

He  was  not  feconded  in  his  efforts.  He  was  net  obey- 
ed. He  was  oppofed,  and  betrayed  ;  and  his  cam- 
paign was  unfortunate,  notwithstanding  his  exertions  to 
turn  the  fortune  of  war  in  his  favour.  On  the  point  of 
conquering  Holland,  theconqueft  was  fnatchcd  from  his 
hands.  He  formed  a  fecond  plan,  and  viclory  was  torn 
from  him  by  his  own  troops.  Jn  the  midfl  of  a  retreat, 
that  was  as  fuccefsfully  conducted  as  it  was  bloody  and 
deftructive,  he  projected  another  defign,  which  preferv- 
ed  his  army,  and  arrefted  the  ruin  of  Belgium,  which, 
otherwife,  would  have  been  complete.  But  this  defign 
fell  (hort  of  its  greateft  object,  the  deliverance  of  France  : 
and.  in  that,  it  was  defeated  by  the  fierce  pride  of  the  con- 
vention, and  by  the  ficklenefs  of  his  troops  ;  and  Gene- 
ral Dumourier  was  compelled  to  quit  his  army,  and  I? 
feek  a  retreat  among  flrangers,  who  could  not  forbear  to 
clteera  him. 

Thenceforth,  the  French  were  no  longer  t]ie  uime 
people.  In  the  foKiiery,  favage  rage  fucceedcd  valour  ; 
{here  was  neither  talent  in  the  plan  of  the  war,  nor 
conduct:  in  its  execution  ;  the  French  flew  and  were 
(lain,  witliout  remorfc,  or  consideration.  It  was  not 
\var  that  they  carried  on  ;  and  the  carnage  would  already 
have  hecii  terminated,  if  the  force  that  oppofed  them 
were  that  of  a  {ingle  people,  or  were  not  rendered  inef- 
fectual by  the  claihing  of  various  interefts  and  counfels. 

The  iltuation  of  General  Dumourier  was  cmbarraiUng, 
when  he  knew  that  England  and  Holland  were  on  the 
point  of  adding  their  forces  to  thofe  of  the  other  enemies 
of  France.  If  the  perfons  who  were  at  the  head  of  affairs, 
had  been  well  informed  and  prudent  men,  he  dirccl- 
ly  would  have  adviicd  them  to  evacuate  the  Netherlands 

which, 


(     143     ) 

which  could  no  longer  be  preferved  ;  and  t.opoft  the  troops 
behind  the  fortified  places  of  the  north,  holding  tor  a  while 
the  banks  of  the  Scheld,  and  the  citadel  of  Narnur. 
But  this  reafonable  proportion  would  have  been  regarded 
as  proceeding  from  cowardice  or  treachery  ;  and  would 
have  brought  the  general  to  the  icarfbld.  Or,  if  it  had 
been  accepted,  it  would  have  delivered  the  General 
into  the  hands  of  tyrants  whom  it  was  his  object  to  .crufh 
for  the  fafety  and  happinefs  of  his  country.  rli;ter:;;g 
France  with  an  enemy  in  purfuit  of  him  j  and  with  the 
appearance  of  a  flight,  he  would  have  infraiitly  loft  his 
military  reputation,  which  was  only  to  be  preferred  by 
fingle  faccelTes  ;  and  his  fate  v/ould  have  been  at  the 
difpofal  of  the  Jacobins  of  Paris,  whom  this 'retreat 
would  have  reinforced  with  the  whole  amount  of  his 
army.  He  could  not  therefore  extricate  himfelf  from 
this  defper^te  fit  nation,  but  by  the  hardieft  and  moft  de-s- 
olive  means.  His  military  fame  and  the  celerity  of  his 
movements,  could  alone  open  him  the  way  to  the  fupply 
pf  all  that  was  wanting  to  his  army.  Clothing,  accou- 
trements, horfes,  arms,  provifions,  money,  all  were  to 
be  found  in  Holland;  and  there,  he  was  compelled  to 
feek  them.  He  conceived  the  defign  of  conquering 
Holland  by  a  daring  blow  ;  and  we  will  now  rapidly  re* 
view  his  plan,  and  his  refourccs- 

The  Dutch  refugees  had  formed  a  fmall  revolutionary 
committee  at  Antwerp,  where  was  alfo  the  Dutch  legion. 
The  committee  poOeifed  more  zeal  than  ability  ;  and, 
although  they  expended  confiderable  Aims  of  money  in 
maintaining  a  fecret  correfpondence  witll  the  different 
Provinces  of  the  Dutch  Republic,  the  information  .which 
the  general  received  thror^h  th/ir  means  was  extremely 
deficient,  efpeciaHy  refpucling  the  military  (late  of  that 
country.  All  that  could  be  relied  on  with  certainty  was, 
that  the  party  of  the  patriots  was  very  confulerabJe  : 
particularly  at  Amiterdam,  Kaeriem,  Doit,  and  through- 
out Zealand.  The  general  prjfe:;;!?ci  to  reaiYiime  thrj 
coniideratioi]  of  the  plan,  which  the  committee  had  laid 
before  him  at  Paris,  of  making  an  irruption  into  Zealand. 
IleafFeCted  to  examine  it  iniuutely  in  pre-encc  of  the 
committee,  and  feigned  to  give  it  hts  at-probation  ;  in 
order  to  cover  a  plan  mor-'J  bold  in  r.p;  ..r«nce,  but  ia 
truth  more  certain  of  iV.cccfs,  b'ecauie  it  appearer  t  >  be 
more  impracAicable.  He  did  not  d'fclofe  that  dcligu  to 
any  Qther  perlbns  than  to  Mr.  Kccli  ^i;  J  i'/I':v  De  Nifs, 
U  :  whiYf* 


(     144    ) 

whom  he  thought  deferring  of  his  entire  confidence  ; 
whole  zeal,  probity,  ftrength  of  mind,  and  love  of  their 
country,  entitled  them  to  be  the  deliverers  of  their  fel- 
low citizens. 

The  plan  for  the  invafion  of  Zealand,  was  as  follows  : 
The  refugees  had  learnt  that  the  Stadtholder  had  formed 
the  defign  of  fortifying  the  Ifland  of  Walcheren,  as  a 
place  of  retreat  for  the  States  General  and  the  members 
of  the  government,  in  cafe  the  French  fhould  enter  the 
country,  and  mould  be  joined  by  the  people,  whom  the 
government  miftrufted.  The  Dutch  Committee  propoied 
that  a  cofiderable  body  of  men  mould  depart  from  Ant- 
werp, and  proceed,  with  as  great  fecrecy  and  difpatch 
as  poffible,  by  Sandvliet  to  the  ifland  of  South  Beveland, 
and  from  thence  to  the  iiland  of  Walcheren,  and,  feizing 
\ipoq  Middleburg  and  Fluming,  mould  make  themfclves 
matters  of  that  latter  ifland.  The  ganifons  ofthofe  two 
towns,  it  is  true,  did  not  amount  to  more  than  twelve  or 
fifteen  hundred  men,  and  were  raw  and  undifciplined 
troops.  But  if  the  inhabitants  had  not  joined  their  deli- 
verers, the  French  foldiers  would  infallibly  have  been 
cut  ofF.  There  was  nothing  to  prevent  the  iiland  receiv- 
ing fuccours  to  double  the  amount  of  the  French  detach- 
ment ;  there  were  already  feveral  Englim  frigates  at 
Fluming  ;  and  the  Dutch  had  a  fquadron  of  armed  veflels 
in  the  Scheld,  lying  under  the  fortrefs  of  Batz,  a  league 
below  Lillo,  which  would  entirely  have  cut  oft  the  retreat 
of  the  detachment  to  the  main  land. 

No  fuccefs  could  be  expected  in  this  expcdit'on,  with- 
out fuch  promptitude  and  exactnefs  in  the  execution,  as 
the  general  could  not  cxpe6t  either  from  his  own  troops, 
or  thole  of  the  Dutch  patriots.  He  had  not  a  finglc 
general  officer  under  his  command  to  whom  he  could 
confide  fo  dangerous  an  enterprize.  He  could  not  aban- 
don the  command  of  the  main  army,  to  undertake  the  ex- 
pedition himfelf.  Had  he  yielded  to  the  opinion  of  the 
Dutch  patriots,  he  would  certainly  have  been  led  into  an 
luinfuccefsful  enterprize;  and  this  unfortunate  check  in 
the  beginning  of  the  campaign  would  have  complete*! 
the  ruin  of  his  fmall  army,  coniifting  of  new  troops,  that 
had  already  fuffered  much  by  his  abfence,  and  wera 
ihortly  after  beaten,  difcouraged,  and  almoft  difperfed 
on  the  Roer  and  the  Meufc. 

But  if,  by   the  chance  that  belongs  to  military  move- 
ments, tru's,  expedition  had  been  i'uccefsful,  however  bril- 
liant 


(     '45     ) 

liant  it  might  have  been,  it  would  have  produced  no  real 
benefit  to  the  general.  On  the  contrary,  it  would  have 
deprived  him  of  five  or  fix  thoufand  of  his  troops,  who, 
would  have  been  feparated  from  him  by  an  arm  of  the  fea, 
and  all  the  places  of  Dutch  Flanders  :  leaving  him  with- 
out a  force  fufricient  to  undertake  any  thing  further- 

The  better  to  conce-al  his  real  defigns,  however,  ha 
profeiled  to  adopt  that  plan  of  attacking  Holland,  and  he 
made  feme  dipofitions  as  if  he  was  about  to  undertake  it 
leriouily.  He  had,  at  Antwerp,  fome  imall  vciTels 
under  the  command  of  Captain  Monition,  an  American 
officer  in  the  French  fervice,  who  had  aflitted  in  the  tak- 
ing; of  the  citadel  of  Antwerp. This  fmall  fquadron  confifted 
of  the  Ariel  of  24  guns,  a  brig  of  14  guns,  and  three  gun- 
boats. He  ordered  thefe  velTels  to  be  fitted  out,  to  pro* 
ceed  to  fort  Lillo,  and  there  to'caft  anchor.  He  directed 
a  furnace  to  be  conftru£ted  on  each  of  the  gun-boats,  for 
the  purpofe  of  heating  bails.  He  commanded  the  fort  of 
'Li!lo,  and  that  of  Lief  kenfhosck,  and  the  citadel  of  Ant- 
werp, to  be  furnifiied  with  provifions,  and  put  in  a  (late  to 
fufbin  a  liege.  He  aiTembled,  at  Antwerp,  all  the  Dutch 
veiTels  that  on  the  declaration  of  war  had  been  detained 
in  the  canals  of  the  Scheldt,  and  ordered  them  to  be 
prepared  to  ferve  as  fire-fhips. 

He  wifhed  it  to  be  believed  that  his  object  was  to  burn 
the  Dutch  veffels  lying  at  anchor  under  the  fort  of  Batz  ; 
and  to  feize  upon  that  fort,  which  mounted  forty  guns. 
The  Dutch  veffels  retired  to  Ramekens.  In  fhort,  every 
thing  feemed  to  indicate,  during  feveral  days,  that  the 
general's  movements  were  directed  againft  Zealand;  and 
he  gave  the  enemy  reafon  to  imagine  that  the  campaign 
would  open  by  the  invafion  of  that  country.  Mean- 
while, the  general's  thoughts  were  wholly  occupied  with 
his  own  plan  ;  which  was  extremely  fimple,  although, 
had  it  never  been  attempted  it  mud;  have  appeared  wholly 
impracticable.  This  plan  was,  to  make  his  way  with  a 
body  of  troops  to  the'Moordyke,  deceiving  and  evading 
the  garrilons  of  Breda,  and  Gertruydenburg,  on  his 
right  ;  Bergen-up-fZoorn,  Steenburg,  Klundert,  and 
Williamftadt,  on  his  left:  and,  pairing  the  arm  of  the 
fea  which  runs  between  the  Moor-dyke  and  Dort,  and 
which  is  about  two  leagues  in  breadth,  to  land  at  Dort: 
where  being  arrived  he  mould  be  in  the  heart  of  Holland, 
and  would  have  no  obllacles  to  encounter  in  marching  by 

Rotterdam, 


(     '46     ) 

Rotterdam,  Delft,  the  Hague,  Lcydcn  and  Haerlcm,  to 
Ainfterduni,  By  this  plan,  he  would  take  all  the  iUong 
places  of  Holland  in  the  rear.  Meanwhile,  Gc-neral 
Alirancb,  with  a  detachment  of  the  grand  army,  was  10 
bombard  Maeilricht,  and  Venice;  and,  as  ioon  as  he 
fhoukl  know  that  General  Dumourier  had  reached  Dort, 
lie  was  to  leave  General  Valence  to  continue  the  fiege  of 
Maeilricht,  and  to  march  with  25,000  men  ;<gaiml 
Nimeguen,  where  General  Dumourier  was  to  join  him 
by  the  route  of  Utrecht. 

This  plan,  executed  with  rapidity,  would  have  had 
little  ferious  dfficulty  to  encoutcr,  fmce  the  Stedtholder 
neithir  had  an  army  affembled,  nor  had  adopted  any  let- 
tied  plan  of  defence  ;  and  fmce,  of  all  the  enterprises  that 
might  be  undertaken  by  Dumourier,  this  was  the  leaft  to 
be  expedited:  for  it  fcemed  to  be  no  better  than  an  attempt 
to  march  an  aimy  through  the  eye  of  a  needle*. 

Dmourier's  nevt  deiign  was,  as  foon  as  he  mould  be 
malier  of  Holland,  to  fend  the  battalions  of  national  guards 
back  into  Belgium;  to  alembic  an  army  entirely  com- 
pofed  of  troops  of  the  line,  and  commanded  by  generals 
of  whole  fidelity  he  was  allured,  and  to  compel  the 
States  General  of  the  United  Provinces,  to  order  a  fur- 
render  of  all  their  towns ;  to  make  no  changes  in  the  govern- 
ment, but  iuch  as  mould  be  indifpenfibly  neceflary  ;  to 
diiloive  the  Dutch  Revolutionary  Committee,  to  the 
members  of  which  he  had  already  fignitied  that  in  cafe  of 
fuccefs,  they  mi^ht  be  feverally  appointed  to  the  public 
foliations  of  their  refpc&ive  Provinces,  fuppofing  them 
to  poflei's  the  confidence  of  their  fellow  citizens  ;  to  pre- 
ferve  the  Dutch  Republic  from  the  tyranny  of  the  com- 
miliioners  of  the  national  convention,  and  from  the  in- 
fluence of  Jacobinifm  ;  to  fit  out  a  fleet  \vith  all  poffiblc 
expedition  at  Rotterdam,  in  Zealand,  and  in  the  Texel,- 
in  order  to  feize  upon  the  Dutch  iettlemcnts  in  India, 
and  to  fecure  the  poileffion  of  them  by  ftrong  ,^arrifons  ; 
to  offer  a  perf?c\  neutrality  to  the  Englifli  ;  to  ftation,  in 
the  conntry  of  Zutphen  and  Dutch  Gi.eklers,  an  army 
of  obfervation  conti  ft  ing  of  30,000  men  ;  to  f\ir?ii:  :  ::  : 
and  arms  for  the  railing  a  body  of  30,000  men,  in  the 
countries  of  Antwerp,  the  two  Flanders,  and  Carnpint*, 
ph  whole  attachment  he  could  rely  ;  to  permit  the  French 

(u 

Tht  fc  are  the  worclt  of  Dumour^r. 


?o  occupy  no    other   part  of  the   Netherlands,  tlun    the 
country   of  Liege  ;  to  annul,  throughout  Belgium  tin- decree 
©f  the  1 5  of  December  ;  to  invite  the  people  of  that  coun- 
try to  alterable. at  Aloft,  Antwerp,  or  Ghent,  for  the  pui> 
pofe  of  forming  on  a  iblid    hafis   fuch   a    government  as 
ihould  be  agreeable  to  them  ;   and  after  that  to  affemble  an 
army  of  Belgians  of  40,  ooo  men,  compofed  of  battalions  of 
800  men  each,  together  with  a  body  of  cavalry.    Dumbu- 
rier  further  defigned  to  oiler  a  fufpenfion  of  arms  to  the  Im- 
perialifts  ;  and  in    cafe  of  its  being   rejected,  to  raiie  an 
army  of  150,000  men  in  order  to  drive  them  beyond  the 
Rhine;   but  if   it  were   accepted    he   hoped   to  gain  time 
and  means  to  execute  the    reft  of   his   plan,  which  was, 
cither  to  form  a  Republic  of  the  eighteen    Provinces  of  the 
Netherlands,  if  that  ihould  be  agreeable  to'the  people,  cr 
to  make  an  o^bfrfivc  and    clefenfive  alliance  between  the 
Republic    of  the    Seven  'United   Provinces    and  that   of 
Belgium,  'and  toraife  an  army  of  80,000  men  in  the  two 
countries  for  their  joint  defence,  till  the  conclufion  of  the 
war;  to  invite  France  to  enter  into  an  alliance  with  the  two 
Republics,  and  to  put  an  end  to  her  anarch}  by  re-adopt- 
ing the. conftitution  of  1789  ;  and  in   cafe  of  France   refu- 
fing  to  accede  to  this  propofal,  to  march  to  Paris  wiih    an 
army  compofed    of  the    French  troops  of  the  line,  and  a 
body  of  40,000  Dutch  and  Belgians,  in  order  to  cliffolve 
the  National  Convention,  and  annihilate  the  power  of  the 
Jacobins. 

Such  were  the  outlines  of  General  Dumouiier's  plan, 
which  was  communicated  only  to  four  perfons.  It  will 
appear  vifionary  to  the  reader  ;  but  being  founded  on  the 
circumftances  of  the  times,  and  on  well  combined  calcu- 
lations, it  could  not  have  failed  of  iuccels,  if  the  moil 
difaftrous  events,  entirely  unconnected  with  the  conduct 
and  arrangements  of  General  Dumouricr,  had  not  broken 
all  his  meafures,  and  forced  him  to  facrificcall  his  hopes 
to  the  immediate  fafety  of  the  grand  army,  on  the  point 
of  being  entirely  defiroyed,  by  the  milmanagement  of  the 
officers  who  commanded  under  him. 


CHAP. 


I 

148  y 


CHAP.     II. 

Preparations  for  the  Expedition  again/I  Holland.  Ordets 
to  the  g  rand  Army.  Advice  given  by  Generd  Dumourier 
to  the  Mini/Her  of  War.  General  Thouvenot  and  the 
Commijfary  Petit- Jean  at  Antwerp.  Orders  for  the 
Taifmg  of  Battalions  in  Belgium..  General  Valence  at 
Antwerp.  Loan.  Manifejlo. 

GENERAL  DUMOURIER,  having  taken  his  rcfo- 
lution,  may  be  ftill  laid  to  have  had  all  his  means  to 
create.  At  Antwerp,  there  were  two  battalions  of 
national  gendarmerie,  confuting  of  350  men  each,  who 
were  dangerous  only  to  their  officers  anc.  the  peaceable 
inhabitants  of  the  city,  being* the  moil  deteftable  and 
undifciplined  foldiers  that  ever  entered  the  field  of  battle, 
Thefe  ferocious  Janiflaries  received  each  40  fols  per  day 
in  fpecie  without  deduction  ;  appointed  their  own  officers ; 
and  comitted  every  kind  of  ciime.  The  general,  after 
paffing  them  in  review,  declared  in  the  ftrongeft  terms, 
that,  fhould  they  continue  to  commit  the  exceffes  of 
which  they  were  accufed,  or  to  be  guilty  of  any  difobe- 
dience  of  orders,  he  would  inftantly  fend  them  back  to 
France.  This  body  of  gendarmerie  was  compofed  of 
the  ancient  French  guards.  There  were  alfo,  at  Ant- 
werp, one  hundred  and  fifty  dragoons  of  the  2oth  regi- 
ment ;  three  battalions  of  national  guards ;  and  about 
two  thoufand  of  the  Dutch  legion,  two  hundred  of  which 
were  horfe.  Twelve  battalions  of  national  guards,  newly 
raifed,  and  having  neither  fufees,  accoutrements,  nor 
{hoes,  were  quartered  in  the  cities  and  villages  of  Weft 
Flanders  ;  and  had  no  idea  that  they  mould  be  obliged  to 
take  the  field  till  the  month  of  May. 

Cannon,  mortars,  magazines,  money,  commilTaries, 
together  with  their  amTtants,  were  altogether  \vanting* 
But  there  was  not  a  moment  to  be  loft.  The  rafhnefs  of 
the  national  convention,  in  declaring  war  againft  Holland, 
had  warned  the  Dutch  to  prepare  tor  their  defence  ;  and, 
unlefs  the  general  had  attacked  them  with  the  utmoft 
celerity,  the  enterprize  would  have  become  titerly  chi- 
merical.  And,  indeed,  had  the  Dutch  prepared  for 
their  defence  with  as  great  a&ivity  as  the  generaj.  ufed 
fcr  attacking  them,  the  projcft  muft  have  been  unfucccfs- 
ful.  General 


(     '49    ) 

General  Miranda  had  remained  at  the  head  of"  the 
army  of  the  North  during  the  whole  winter.  This 
general  was  a  Peruvian  by  birth  ;  and  was  a  man  of 
capacity,  and  extend \e  information.  He  was  better 
veried  in  the  theory  of  war  than  any  other  of  the  French 
generals,  but  he  was  not  equally  well  verfed  in  the 
practice.  His  intimacy  with  Pethion  had  been  the  caufe 
of  his  entering  the  fervice  the  preceding  year,  as  major 
general.  He  joined  Dumourier  at  the  camp  of  Grand- 
pie  ;  and  had  been  of  great  fervice  to  him,  in  the  differ- 
ent attacks  of  the  Pruffians,  particularly  in  the  retreat 
of  the  1 5th  of  September.  But  he  had  a  haughtinefs  of 
difpofition,  and  a  biuntnefsof  manner,  which  begat  him; 
many  enemies ;  and  he  was  unfit  to  command  the 
French,  whole  confidence  it  is  impoffible  to  gain  but  by 
good  humour  and  a  conduct  exprellive  of  refpect  for 
them. 

Dumourier  had  procured  him  the  appointment  of 
lieutenant-general,  in  the  month  of  November  1792  ; 
had  conferred  upon  him  the  command  of  the  army  of  the 
North,  and  had  promifed  to  obtain  him  the  rank  of  gene- 
ral, on  the  firit  opportunity.  Miranda  was  afterward 
offended  that  Valence,  an  older  lieutenant-general  than 
himfelf,  (having  commanded  with  great  reputation  gene- 
ral Keliermann's  advanced  guard,  and  fe  cral  detached 
corps,  during  the  campaign  of  1792)  mould  have  been 
railed  to  the  rank  of  general  on  the  recommendation  of 
Dumourier.  He  never  forgave  this  preference  ;  but  his 
refentment,  unfortunately  for  France,  did  not  difplay 
itfclf  till  the  day  of  the  battle  of  Nerwiride.  At  the  time 
we  now  fpeak  of,  he  ftiil  appeared  full  of  attachment  to 
Dumourier.  And  that  general  had  written  to  him  from 
Paris  to  make  preparations  for  the  opening  of  the  cam- 
paign, very  early  in  the  fpring,  by  the  iiege  of  Maeftricht, 
in  cafe  a  rupture  mould  prove  to  be  unavoidable  with 
England  and  Holland. 

Dumourier's  own  army  was  then  under  the  command 
of  jreneral  Lanoue,  who  was  a  very  brave  and  honed 
man.  Fifty  years  paft  in  the  fervice  had  rendered  him 
refpe£l.ible ;  but  had  alfo  diminUhed  his  vigour.  He 
was  aflifted  by  general  Thouvenot,  an  officer  of  very 
uncommon  merit. 

The  army  of  general  Valence  was  commanded,  in  his 
abfence  by  lieutenant-general  Le  Veneur,  a  man  ot 
great  courage  but  of  a  limked  capacity, 

X  Dumourier 


pumourier  ordered  General  Miranda  to  prefcnt  hirn- 
f'elf  before  IMaeftricht  with  a  part  of  his  arim  ,  without 
too  much  weakening  the  poftson  the  Meufe  ;  to  reinforce 
hiinfelf  to  the  number  of  25  or  50.000  men  drawn  from 
the  other  two  armies  ;  and  to  communicate  thefe  orders 
to  the  rcfpecftive  generals,  that  they  might  contract  their 
lines,  and  hold  their  troops  in  readinefs  to  take  the  field, 
if  the  Imperiaiifts,  whole  num'  ers  were  cLi-ly  increafing 
in  their  quarters  on  the  Herfrle,  and  the  PrniTians  who 
were  aifo  daily  receiving  reinforcements  at  WefTel, 
iliould  betray  anv  dcfigns  of  forming  a  jur;£iion  to  relieve 
Macftricht,  which  v. ;  .red.  General  Durnourier 

thought  it  prudent  not  to  point  out  the  pofition  that  might 
he  proper  for  this  army  of  obfcrvation  ;  and  he  acknow- 
i:  !  >es  that,  in  this,  he  committed  a  great  error. 

In  the  remaining  part  of  General  Dumourier's  inftruc- 
tipns  to  Miranda  i  he  confidentially  unfolded  his  plan  for 
attacking  Holland.  He  dcfired  him  not  to  open  the  f;ege 
iarly  before  Macftncht,  being  too  early  in  the  ieaion 
f;,r  1'uch  an  undertaking,  but  to  endeavour  to  carry  the 
place  by  a  v!  go  re  us  cllault  with  bombs  and  red  hot  balls, 
in  the  fame  manner  as  the  Duke  of  Saxe-Tefchen  had 
attempted  to  carry  Lille  ;  and,  when  General  Diuncurier 
ihonld  have  informed  him  that  he  had  reached  Dort  by 
the  Moor  Dyke,  to  kave  General  Valence  befbre 
Maeftricht,  and  to  proceed  by  forced  marches  to  NJme- 
4rruen?  pirip/n^b.y  the  frontier  of  the  Dulchy  of  Cicves,  in 
order  to  intercept  the  Prufiian-:,  if  they  fliculd  attempt  to 
reach  Holland  before  him  :  and,  to  this  Jatfer  purpofe, 
Durnourier  defired  him  to  fend.  General  Champmorin 
(a  molt  able  engineer)  ag?tinft  Venioo,  while  Miranda 
j}iou:d  Vteuep:e  Maeftricht,  and  by  that  means  to  make 
liimielf  mailer  of  the  lo\ver  part  of  the  Meufe  as  far  as 
Gcnep. 

General  Durnourier  confined  the  number  of  men  that 
Miranda  mould  emplov  in  this  expedition  to  25,000  or 
-•0,000,  at  the  utmofl,  that  he  might  not  too  much  weaken 
the  pofh  on  the  Meufe.  He  recommended  the  greateft 
difpiitch  in  the  preparations,  ib  that  Maeftricht  might  be 
invefted  by  the  I2th  or  I5th  of  that  month;  and  he 
appointed  lieutenant-general  Bouchet,  an  experienced 
engineer,  to  afli'ft  Miranda  in  the  liege. 

Dumourier  wrote  nearly  in  the  fame  terms  to  Lanoue 
and  Thouvenot ;  enjoining  them  to  inform  the  troops, 
that  he  ihould  review  them,  after  having  vifited  the 

quarter* 


quarters  on  the  lower  Meufe.  He  wrote  to  lieutenant- 
gcneral  Moreton,  who  commanded  in  BruiTcls,  that  he 
was  letting;  oiF  immediately  for  that  city.  And  to 
General  d'Harviiie,  ordering  him  to  alTefnble  his  troops 
at  N.vmur  on  the  2Oth  of  February,  as  he  deiigned  to 
review  his  divifion  on  the  2:?.d  of  that  month.  Thus,  in 
miileading  fuch  of  his  generals  as  were  not  to  be  employ- 
ed in  the  expedition  he  effectually  deceived  the  enemy, 
\vho  were  utterly  at  a  lofs  to  conjecture  in  what  point  he 
would  begin  the  campaign. 

Some  days  after  General  Dumouricr  quitted  Paris, 
Pache  refigned  the  war  department  in  order  to  be  cholea 
Mayor  of  Paris,  and  was  fucceeded  by  General  Bour- 
nonviile,  for  whom  Dumourier  had  procured  the  rank. 
of  lieutenant-general  and  afterward  of  general  in  a  very 
fnort  fpace  of  time.  Dumourier  had  been  ufed  to  call 
him  his  Ajax  and  his  fon.  In  truth  he  had  commenced 
his  career  with  great  fpirit,  and  had  evinced  a  fincere 
attachment  to  the  general.  Dumourier  now  informed 
him  merely,  that  it  was  his  delign  to  attack  Holland, 
without  entering  into  any  detail  of  his  plan,  Jell:  he 
ihould  be  betrayed  by  the  indiicrction  or  the  difhonefty 
of  the  clerks  of  the  war  ofiice. 

Pache,  a  little  while  before  his  quitting  the  miniftry, 
had  ordered  the  demolition  of  the  fmall  part  of  the  fortifi- 
cations of  Mons  and  Tournay  which  then  remainec?. 
Tfaefe  imprudent  orders  had  difgufied  the  inhabitants 
of  thofe  two  cities.  General  Dumourier  fuipended  the 
execution  of  the  order  ;  and,  he  not  only  defired  the 
new  minifter  of  war  to  revoke  it,  but  ftrongly  recom- 
mended to  him  to  repair  the  fortifications  of  thofe  two 
places,  with  the  utmoir  difpach.  He  alfo  counfelled 
him  (o  fortify  with  equal  fpecd  the  (Vrong  place  of  the 
caftlc  of  Huy  ;  to  make  ditches  round  Malmes,  which 
might  eafily  be  put  in  a  ftale  of  defence  by  inundations  ; 
to  erect  ftrong  batteries  at  Oilend,  Nieuport,  and  Dun- 
kirk, in  order  to  firengthen  our  frontiers  on  that  fide, 
in  the  probable  cafe  or'  our  being  obliged  to  evacuate 
Belgium.  General  Dumourier  further  advifcd  Burnon- 
viiie  to  complete  the  line;;  from  Dunkirk  to  Ber£jues  ; 
to  form  an  intrenched  camp  at  Mount  Caiieli;  and  to 
fortify  Orchies  between  Liile,  Douay,  and  Conde  ; 
ftavay,  as  an  out-poft  to  Ouelnoy,  between  Conde  and 
Maubege  ;  and  Beaumont,  between  Maub?gc  and 
Phiiippevillu. 

X  2  Such 


Such  were  the  counfels  refpeclir.g  fortifying;  tb-t  fron- 
tier \vhich  wcic  given  by  General  Duniourier,  although 
he  is  accufed  of  having  bctrsved  his  country.  General 
Dumourier  faithfully  ferved  his  country  till  the  moment 
that  he  quitted  her;  and  lie  will  again  feive  her; 
with  the  fame  zeal  and  fidelity,  if  he  {houid  ever 
fee  her  governed  bv  a  king-,  under  the  func- 
tion of  a  conftitution.  Had  his  counfels  been  followed, 
the  combined  armies  would  have  been  detained  longer  on 
the  exterior  frontier,  by  that  line  of  pods  and  would  not, 
have  penetrated  fo  eafily  into  France. 

General  Dumourier  alfo  requeued  Bournonville  to  fend 
him  reinforcements  of  men  ,  and  to  order  General  D'Ar- 
ron  to  join  him,  with  fome  able  engineers,  having  to 
make  a  campaign  that  would  abound  in  fieges.  Bcurnon- 
viile  acceded  to  all  Dumourier's  requefts,  as  far  as  was 
in  liJs  power,  with  promptitude  ;  and  General  D'Arcon 
arrived  at  the  army  immediately  afterward. 

This  general,  although  one  of  the  heft  engineers  and 
one  of  the  worthieft  men  in  France,  had  been  accufed  of 
ariftocracy  by  the  well  known  Prince  of  HeiTe,  a  con- 
temptible Jacobin  ;  and  had  been  deprived  of  his  com- 
mand ;  but  General  Dumourier,  who  had  been  long  ac- 
quainted with  his  merit,  reflored  him  to  the  fervice  of 
his  country,  and  found  him  worthy  of  the  trufl  repofed 
in  him. 

General  de  Flers  commanded  at  Bruges.  He  was  a 
brave  man  ;  but  was  opinionated,  and  did  not  poflefs 
much  capacity.  Having  received  a  wound  with  a  muf- 
ket  ball  in  the  camp  of  Maulde,  Dumcurier  made  him 
major-general  ;  and  afterwards  fent  him  to  Bruges,  to 
take  upon  him  the  command  in  Weft  Flanders,  and  had 
given  him  orders  to  receive  the  reinforcement  of  10,000 
men,  which  Pache  had  marched  into  that  country  on  the 
General's  requeft. 

When  Dumourier  arrived  at  Bruges,  de  Flers  laid  be- 
fore him  a  plan  >which  he  had  formed  for  furprifing  the 
city  of  SJuys.  The  general  pretended  to  adopt  the  plan  ; 
and  fent  de  Flers  to  Bournonville,  with  a  requeft  to  give 
de  Flers  a  body  of  5  or  6000  men  and  a  fmall  train  of 
artillery,  to  enable  him  to  menace  Dutch  Flanders.  The 
requeft  was  complied  with,  fpeediiy  and  compleatlv. 

The  general  had  no  defign  that  de  Flers  ihould  attack 
the  Duich  towns  in  Flanders,  which  it  was  not  puflile  for 
him  to  take  ;  but  he  placed  this  fmall  body  of  men  under 

his 


(     '53     ) 

his  orders,  to  be  ready  to  replace,  on  the  fide  of  Antwerp 
and  Breda,  the  forces  that  the  general  ihoulcl  march  into 
Holland.  And  he  knew  that  the  ailembling  this  final  1 
army  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Bruges  would  ftill  aid  in 
deceiving  the  Dutch  re  (peeking  the  general's  defigns,  ef- 
p^ciaiiy  as  de  Flersvvas  himfclf  deceived,  and  made  feri- 
ous  preparations  tor  his  expedition. 

General  Dumourier  had  left  all  the 'officers  of  hisftaff 
at  Liege,  together  with  his  aids  de  camp,  and  was  accom- 
panied by  his  faithful  Baptiue.  lie  Lad  alfo  left  his 
equipage  with  the  grand  army,  to  favour  the  opinion  that 
he  defigned  to  return  ;  and  had  only  ordered  a  few  horlcs 
to  attend  him  at  Antwerp,  under  pretence  of  \  ifuing  the 
cantonments  on  -the  Meufe.  To  form  Ins  flafl  therefore, 
he  lent  for  four  of  his  officer:;,  at  the  head  of  whom  he 
placed  Colonel  Thouvenot,  brother  to  the  general  of  the 
fame  name.  This  officer,  who,  under  every  circumfhincc, 
has  been  the  zealous  friend  of  General  Dumourier, 
abounded  in  coinage,  information,  and  refourccs  of  mind. 
He  was  in  an  an  eminent  degree  important  to  the  gene- 
ral during  the  campaign  in  Holland  ;  and  when  they 
quitted  the  army  together  rendered  the  general  every  fer- 
vice  in  his  power. 

The  prefence  of  General  Thouvenot  was  necefTary  to 
the  grand  army.  He  was  the  only  officer  that  perfeclly 
undetftood  the  details  of  duty  in  winter  quarters  ;  and  was 
the  only  one  that  had  influence  enough  to  heal  the  fre- 
quent quarrels  that  happened  among  the  generals.  Jt  was 
known  that  he  poffeiTed  the  entire  confidence  of  Dumou- 
rier, and  alfo  that  his  merit  entitled  him  to  that  confi- 
dence ;  and  although  he  was  not  the  better  beloved  en 
that  account,  it  obtained  him  a  greater  degree  of  reJpcct  ; 
and,  it  being  known  that  he  was  pe«  fecily  acquainted  with 
the  general's  intentions,  his  opinion  was  received  with, 
the  fame  deference  that  was  paid  to  the  general's  orders. 

There  was  no  other  commlfTary  with  the  army,  than 
Petit-Jean,  to  provide  magazines  and  every  thin^  necef- 
fary for  the  fiege  of  Maeflricht,  and  for  the  cantonments 
between  the  Meufe  and  the  Roer,  and  the  different  quar- 
ters in  Belgium.  It  ieemed  imprudent  to  take  him  a  mo- 
ment from  thefe  multiplied  concerns,  before  the  arrival 
of  Mains,  who  wasilill  detained  at  Paris,  although  a  pro- 
inife  had  been  made  to  the  general  tipt  he  ihould  ue  fent 
to  the  army. 

Not- 


(     154     ) 

NotwithftancFng  thefe    reafons,    Dumour'er    ordered 
1  General  Thouvenct  and  Petit- Jean  to  attend  him  at  Ant- 
werp ;   and,  in  two  days,  he  fettled  with  them  all  the  ne- 
cetiary  engagements  to    enable  his   troops  to  take    the 
fftld  for  the  expedition. 

Dumourier  at  the  fam~  time  fent  to  Liege  for  General 
La  Fayette,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  La  Maitiniere,  to 
form  Ms  train  of  artillery,  which  indeed  was  veiy  in- 
coufidcrable.  Thefe  two  office's  ferved  him  wfth  a  zeal 
and  knowledge  defcrving  of  the  higheft  euloginms. 

Oa  the  departure  of  Thouvenot  and  Petit  Jean,  Gene- 
ral DuniGurij''  gave  them  idflrO&ions  for  a  new  levy  of 
twenty-five  battalions  of  Belgians,  porififtfng  of  800  men 
each,  and  he  charged  the  generals  and  other  officeis 
commanding  in  the  different  provinces  with  the  execu- 
tion of  thefe  orders,  and  appointed  Thouvenct  inspector 
general  and  Petit  Jean  commiiTary  general  ;  in  puifu- 
ance  of  a  decree  cf  the  National  Convention,  which  p'a- 
ced  thofe  troops  on  the  footing  of  French  ibkiiers.  '!  ill 
that  period,  the  Belgic  Provinces  had  rrnde  levies  of  le- 
gions, regiments,  and  corps  at  their  pleafure.  Thefe 
troops  were  filled  with  a  difproportionate  number  of  of- 
ficers, and  were  paid  on  the  credit  of  the  Belgic  military 
committee,  the  members  of  which  were  very  ignorant  and 
dilhonelt,  and  were  governed  by  General  Kozieie,  who 
had  formerly  been  an  officer  in  the  fervice  of  France, 
and  was  neither  a  man  of  honour  nor  talents. 

General  Valence,  on  his  route  from  Paris,  paffed  thro* 
Antwerp  to  take  Dumourier's  orders.  Dumourier  com- 
municated his  entire  plan  to  Valence  ;  and  informed  him 
that  he  was  to  cover  the  fiege  of  Maeftricbt,  with  the  ar- 
my under  his  command,  till  Miranda  fbould  depart  for 
Nimeguen,  afterward  to  continue  the  fiege,  if  the  town 
Ihould  not  be  then  taken.  He  recommended  to  the  ge- 
neral to  vifit  all  the  winter  quarters  of  the  army,  to 
choofe  a  proper  pofitiah  for  the  covering  aimy,  to  watch 
the  motions  of  the  enemy,  and  to  hold  hirnfelf  ready  to 
engage  them  if  thev  ihoukl  endeavour  to  relieve  Mae- 
ftricht, which  was  reafonably  to  be  expected.  Above  ail 
things,  he  recommended  to  him  to  act  v.'iih  promptnefscmd 
vigour  ;  to  concert  meafures  fmcerely  and  'cordially '-with 
General  Miranda;  and  to  ccnfult  General  Thouvenct, 
.whole  knowledge  could  not  fail  to  be  of  infinite  fervice 
to  him.  At  the  fame  time  lie  lent  orders  to  Lanoue  to 
General  \'a'j;:cc. 

The 


(     '55     ) 

71ie  Committee  of  Finance  cf  the  Convention,  rn'f- 
trufting  the  general,  or  being  denrous  of  counteivftiui; 
and  infulting  them,  had  ordered  the  U'cafury  to  furnilh 
no  more  money  to  the  troops  than  their  pav,  and  not  to 
appropriate  fums  for  the  other  expencc;,  although  the 
troops  were  i n  want  offhoes,  cloaths  and  arms.  The 
paymafler  of  the  army  fupplied  r.o  more  for  tlic  troops 
deftined  agduilt  Holland,  than  the  pay  of  fifteen  day?, 
which  amounted  to  only  240,000  iivrcs  ;  and  the  troop.; 
did  not  even  coll  the  nation  that  fum,  fince  they  lived  at 
the  expence  of  the  country.  The  expedition  however 
was  attended  with  prodigious  incidental  expences. 

NoUvichitanding  the  rapacity  and  unjuft  conduct,  of 
the  French  in  Belgium,  the  whole  of  that  nation  rendered 
juttice  to  the  conduct  of  General  Dumourier.  In  no  citv 
of  Europe  are  there  a  greater  number  of  wealthy  inhabi- 
tants than  at  Antwerp.  After  the  commerce  of  that  citv 
had  fallen  into  decay, the  inhabitants  had  fubftituted  the 
mod  rigid  ccconomy  in  the  pkcc  of  that  rcfource.  Their 
expences  were  uiually  conhned  within  the  bounds  of  a 
part  of  their  revenues,  fo  tint  their  fortunes  could  not  but 
accumulate  greatly.  General  Durnourier  affemblecj  tlic 
magiftrates  and  principal  ciiizens,  and  opened  a  lean  of 
1,200,000  florins.  A  merchant  named  Verbiouck  was 
charged  with  the  receipt  of  the  money,  and  the  coir.niif- 
fary  Petit- Jean  with  the  fuperiritendance  of  its  expendi- 
ture. 1  he  lo^n  produced  200,000  florins.,  vv'hich  in  the 
end  was  an  ineftimable  reiburce.  It  ferved  to  cloath  and' 
arm  the  legion  of  the  North,  the  huflars  of  the  Republic, 
and  feveral  other  French  and  Relgic  corps.  General 
Dumourier,  who  never  had  leifure  even  to  examine  the 
accounts  of  the  expenditure,  and  who  was  in  Holland 
while  it  was  received  and  expended,  has  been  calumnia- 
ted on  this  ground  alfo.  He  was  charged  in  the  Jacobin 
Society,  and  afterward  in  the  Convention,  with  having  ap- 
propriated this  furn  to  hisownufe.  But  he  whofe  mind 
is  occupied  with  great  and  intercfting  concerns,  is  not 
liable  to  be  greatly  tempted  by  the  love  cf  wealth. 

General  Dumourier,  before  he  entered  Holland,  pub- 
lilhcd  a  mamfefto,  with  which  the  Houfe  of  Orange 
has  been  juftly  offended.  That  declaration,  it  is  true, 
in  a  war  of  ordinary  circumftances  had  been  very  unjuft 
and  lin wife,  although  we  have  been  accuftcmed  to  "fee 
iioftilities  between  the  moft  civilized  nations  preceded  by 
mutual  abufc  and  accufations.  Bu*  it  would  be  a  wrong 


done  to  General  Dumcurier,  to  impute  to  his  moral  cha- 
racter, actions  that  were  impofed  upon  him  by  his  public 
fituation. -He  was  called  upon  to  give  encourage- 
ment fto  a  very  confiderable  party  in  the  Dutch  nation, 
who  were  difpirited  by  former  misfoi tunes  ;  and  to 

terrify  the   partizans   of  the  Stadtholdeiv It  became 

him,  in  the  ftation  he  filled,  to.  fcparate  the  people  of 
Holland  from  the  aiufe  of  the  Stadtl-'oldiT,  iince  the 
Dutch  nation,  had  it  been  !  •  to'hei  i  mine,  would 

Lave"  avoided  the  war,  dreading  it  as  altogether  contrary 
to  her  interefts.  Dumounei's  declaration  refultcd  from 
thefe  circumOanecs  ;  and  be  fide,  it  was  neceflary  to 
fcreen  the  general  from  the  cenfure  and  refentment  of 
the  NanonaFConvention,  till  he  'mould  Le  able  to  pene- 
trate with  fuccefs  into  Holland. 

'The  preparations  of  which  we  have  fpoken  were  made, 
and  the  army  alTembled  with  even  n  /cedr.ry,  in  ten  days; 
and  the  advanced  •  p-unr'd  'entered  Holland,  on  the  lyth 
of  February'  The  inoft  nT-poiti-nt  diiiicv;ltyv'£:s,'to  con- 
ceal the  inconfidcrable  amount  of  this  fmall  army.  And, 
in  that,  the  general  Succeeded  fo  perfectly,  that  the 
troops  themielves  vrere  perfuaded  that  they  were  not  lefs 
thay* 30,000 .ftrorg  ;  while  the  Dutch  hr/Jt;.Jned  they  had 
to  contend  with  an  immenie  arniy  ;  in  winch  (.•pn^oi/, 
they  were  confirmed  by  the  inhabitants  of  Antwerp, 
who  extremely  ociiffgerated  tlic  number  of  troops,,  which 
parted  through  that  city. 


CHAP. 


(     '59     ) 

The  rear-guard  of  the  army  was  compofed  of  a~bntta- 
lion  of  National  guards  ;  a  Dutch  battalion  ;  two  hundred 
Belgians  ;  a  hundred  troopers  of  tne  20 th  regiment ;  and 
a  hundred  of  the  Belgic  huflars  ;  and  was  commanded  by 
Colonel  Tilly,  an  aid-du-camp  of  the  general.  A  part 
of  the  artillery  was  attached  to  each  ofthefe  divifions. 

Vvrith  this  iimil  army  the  general  undertook  the  con- 
quell  of  Holland.  But  he  had  a  powerful  party  in  the 
country,  who  expected  him  with  impatience,  and  were 
ready  to  declare  themfelves  on  his  penetrating  into  the 
country.  He  had  neither  time,  on  account  of  the  necef- 
iary  rapidity  of  his  movements,  nor  means,  for  want  of 
good  officers  in  the  different  corps,  to  form  and  difc'pline 
thefe  troops.  But  they  were  ardent,  courageous,  and 
impatient  for  action  ;  and  the  enter  prize  they  were  un- 
dertaking had  a  boldnefs  in  it,  that  extremely  well  fuited 
the  genius  of  the  nation*  The  general  informed  this 
little  army  of  the  rigour  of  the  climate  into  which  they 
were  going  ;  the  number  of  ftrong  places,  fufrounded  by 
inundations,  to  be  taken  ;  and  the  canals  and  arms  of  the 
fea  to  be  croffed.  But  while  he  told  them  of  thele  obfla- 
cles,  he  declared  to  them  that,  being  once  arrived  in  Hol- 
land, they  would  be  joined  by  numerous  friends,  and 
would  find  provifions,  money  and  every  thing  they  want- 
ed, in  abundance. 

The  French  foldicr  poffeffes  great  feasibility  and  un» 
derftanding  ;  and  is  not  to  be  conducted  with  fuccefs  by 
the  ordinary  means  of  military  men.  If  his  general  have 
the  good  fenfe  to  unfold  to  him  the  obftacles  of  an  enter- 
prize,  he  thinks  no  longer  of  any  thing  but  conquering 
them,  and  actually  makes  the  enter  prize  an  aifair  of 
pleafure.  But  if  the  danger  be  concealed  from  him,  he  is 
confounded  in  difcoveringit ;  and  if  he  be  once  difpirited, 
or  rather  difgufted  with  being  led  blindly  to  a  defperate 
talk,  h'j  gives  way  to  mtftruft,  and  it  becomes  impoflible- 
to  rally  him  ;  or  afterwards  to  controul  him*. 

Dumourier  had  can  fed  General  Berneron  to  march 
forward,  on  the  i6th,  with  the  advanced  guard  ;  promifing 
that  he  mould  be  fupported  Ihortly  by  the  reft  of  the  avm'% 
l-i  written  imtrufiions  which  he  delivered  to  General 
Berneron,  he  ordered  him  inllantiv  to  fend  a  detachment 
confiding  of  800  infantry  and  100  cavalry,  commanded 
by  lieutenant-colonel  DaenJels,  a  Dutch  lefdgee,  to  the 

*  Ihi,  is  a  ji  /ins    ifture  efi    '  i  :>r. 


Moor  Dyke,  in  order  to  feize  upon  all  the  veffels  lie 
fhould  find  there,  or  at  Swaluve,  or  Roovvaert  :  to  poft 
the  remainder  of  his  divifion  along  the  little  river  of 
Merck,  from  Oudenbofch  and  Sevenbergen  to  Breda  : 
and  to  throw  a  bridge  over  the  river  Merck,  in  order  to 
fecure  a  communication  with  lieutenant-colonel  Daendels, 
and  to  be  able  to  lupport  him  againft  any  forties  that 
might  be  made  by  the  neighbouring  garrifons. 

In  Bergen-up-Zoom,Gertruydenberg,  and  Breda,  there 
were  three  regiments  of  dragoons,  amounting  to  more 
than  all  the  cavalry  of  General  Dumourier,  and  a  fuffi- 
cient  number  of  infantry  to  a6l  with  them.  It  is  certain 
that  if  thefe  had  been  afiembled  together,  and  had  been 
joined  by  the  cavalry  of  Bois-le-Duc,  and  Hcufden,  they 
would  have  been  fufficiently  ftrong  to  have  compelled  the 
advanced  guard  to  retire,  and  thereby  to  have  ruined  the 
expedition.  But  Dumourier  knew  that  there  was  not 
any  one  of  the  Dutch  generals  charged  with  the  defence 
of  the  country,  or  who  had  authority  to  draw  all  the 
cavalry  together  ;  and  he  was  certain  that  the  officers  who 
commanded  in  the  different  towns,  having  r.o  plan  of 
r.^neral  defence,  would  attend  only  to  the  danger  which 
threatened  them  refpe6lively,  and  would  not  hazard  any 
part  of  their  ganifons,  agairifl  an  army,  which  each  of 
them  believed  to  be  very  itrong,  and  which  appeared  by 
the  extent  of  its  cantonments  to  menace  feveial  cities  at 
once.  Befide,  that  the  commanding  officers  of  the  gar- 
rifons  were  fufficiently  embarraflod  in  preparing  means 
for  their  defence  ;  not  having  expected  ib  fudden  an  at- 
tack, and  in  this  early  part  of  the  feafon. 

On  the  22d,  the  general  arrived  at  his  firft  poft  ;  and 
was  aftonifhed  and  arBicled  to  find  that  his  oiders  had 
not  been  executed.  No  part  of  the  advanced  guard  had 
yet  palled  the  Merck  ;  (by  which  neglect,  time  was  given 
to  the  Dutch  to  withdraw  all  their  vellels  from  the  Moor 
Dyke  to  the  fide  of  Dort,  and  piace  them  under  the  pro^- 
tr •',:  lion  of  three  guardftjlps,  which  were  on  that  ilation. 
is  fir  ft  error  rendered  the  fienerai's  paiTa^e  to  Dort  ex- 

l  O 

tremely  difficult,  and  altnoft  impracticable,  unlefs  he  could 
•in  other  boats  in  the  place  of  thefe  he  iiad  expected  to 
feize. 

He  inflantly  coTmanded  Berncron  and  Daendels  to 
puffi  forward  ;  and  General  d'Arcon  to  inveft  Breda  with 
t'ne  ri^ht  divilioo  ;  and  Colonel  le  Clerc  rlcftrlv  to  block- 
ade .Dcrgeri-op-Zoom,  and  Stcenbei^g,  with  the  left.  The 


officers  who  commanded  in  thofc  two  kill  places  abandoned 
all  their  out-pofts.  Colonel  le  Clerk  made  hinifelf  matter 
of  the  final  1  fort  of  Blaw-fTuys,  at  a  little  diftance  from 
Steerrberg,  which  place  he  fummoncd  to  furrender.  The 
girrifon  of  Bergen-op-Zoom,  made  two  or  three  incon- 
fiderable  tallies  ;  which  produced  no  other  effect  than 
the  defertion  of  fome  of  their  men,  \vhoentered  into  the 
Dutch  legion. 

General  Dumourier  proceeded,  with  his  rear  guard, 
between  the  two  diviiions  of  his  army,  to  Sevenbergen  ; 
fending  his  advanced  guard  forward  to  Klundert  and  Wil- 
liiimftadt,  wirh  orders  to  befiege  thofc  two  places.  And 
he  commanded  Lieutenant-Colonel  Daendels  to  poil  him- 
felf  at  Nordfchantz,  in  order  to  cutoffthe  communication 
between  Williamftadt  and  Klundert.  This  officer  feized 
three  velTels  at  Nordfchantz. 

The  general  appointed  MelTrs.  Kcch  and  De  Nifs  :o 
be  colonels.  The  former  of  them,  who  was  an  eloquent 
fpeaker,  and  a  man  of  enterprifing  character,  was  ordered 
to  affift  Daendels  ;  and  the  latter,  a  man  of  information 
and  temperate  courage,  accompanied  the  general. 

Dumourier  did  not  conceal  from  him fe If  the  difficulty  of 
pa  fling  to  Dort,  by  the  Moor  Dyke.  The  following  was 
the  plan  firM  projected  for  that  purpofe.  Koch  and  Daen- 
dels, according  to  the  infcructions  given  to  Berneron, 
were  to  proceed  by  the  ryth  to  the  Moor  Dvke  with  900 
men,  fupp cried  by  the  whole  cf  the  advanced  guard,  port- 
ed on  the  Merck.  They  were  to  collect  all  the  vefTels 
they  could  find  on  that  fide  ;  and,  on  the  2  ill  or  22d  at 
furthed,  embarking  all  the  men  they  could  croud  info 
thefe  veiTels,  were  to  pafs  to  Dort,  which  they  had  reafon 
to  hope  would  join  them  ;  and,  aided  by  the  inhabitants, 
were  to  diiarm  the  ^rrifon,  confiding  of  250  men,  unleis 
they  fhou'd  be  willing  to  incorporate  themfelves  \vith  the 
army.  There  were  more  tha  •  a  hundred  vefiels  lyins:  «t 
Dcrt.  Thefe  t1r,ey  were  to  conduct  to  the  Moor  Dyke  ; 
and,  arming  three  or  four  with  the  larrell  cannon,  were 
to  lend  them  forward  to  drive  olFlhc  three  iina  11  guard 
fnips.  -  Indeed  it  was  propofed  to  make  themfelves 
mailers  of  theie  veileis  by  boarding  them,  they  being  both 
ill-armed  an. I  ill  manned. 

The  plan  thus  far  accompli  Hied,  the  main  body  of  the 
army  was  to  proceed  to  S.:  •;-,,  O-idenbofch,  Moor 

Dyke  and  Swaluv?  ;  and,  from  thenc  :,    t:.>   pafs  to  Dort, 
in  o?ie  or  two  dirifions  ;  their  embarkation  being  protected 

by 


(       162      ) 

by  the  rear  guard,  who  were  to  deftroy  the  bridge  that 
lliould  be  thrown  over  the  Merck,  and  to  prevent  the 
garriibns,  that  might  attempt  to  harrafs  the  army,  from 
palling  the  river.  The  army  being  once  arrived  at  Dort 
there  was  no  longer  any  obftacle  to  be  feared. 

On  the  evening  in  which  General  Dumourier  quitted 
Antwerp,  he  met,  at  a  little  village  on  his  route,  the  Ba- 
ron de  Stael,  who  formerly  had  been  Ambafiklor  from 
Sweden  to  France,  and  was  now  going  to  Paris.  The 
Baron  fupped  with  Dumourier,  and  informed  him 
that  every  part  of  Germany  and  Holland  through  which 
he  h;-d  palled  was  friendly  to  the  General's  enterprife  ;, 
and  that  at  Utrecht  he  was  impatiently  expecied.  He 
alib  confirmed  the  intelligence,  which  the  General  had 
already  received,  that  the  party  of  the  Stadtholder  were 
in  the  greatest  confternation.  Without  endeavouring  to 
difcover  the  object  of  the  Baron's  journey,  the  General 
counfelied  him  to  wait  the  iilue  of  the  prefent  expedition 
before  he  (hould  explain  himfelf  confidentially  to  the 
French  Miniftry,  tint  he  might  not  too  haftily  pledge  his 
court  to  any  certain  line  of  conduct,  or  expoie  his  mea- 
fures  to  be  afterwards  difcwned  ;  and  he  advifed  him  by 
all  means  to  be  filent,  at  Paris,  on  any  fubje£t  but  fuch 
as  he  was  willing  mould  be  known  to  the  whole  world. 
This  Minifter  allured  the  General  that  he  was  going  to 
Paris  on  his  private  concerns.  Dumourier  before  his  de- 
parture from  Antwerp,  had  given  the  fame  counfel  to  a 
perfonage  from  Poland,  of  very  high  rank  and  confe- 
quence  ;  who,  being  on  his  route,  had  paid  a  vifit  to  the 
General  at  his  quarters.  Indeed,  the  General's  maxim 
uniformly  was  to  take  every  opportunity  of  preventing 
foreign  courts  from  pledging  themfelves  to  a  miniilry,  the 
(lave  of  an  affemhiy  of  700  men,  without  prudence,  expe- 
rience or  honor. 

Dumourier's  original  plan  was  totally  deranged  by  the 
negligence  of  the  officers,  to  whom  he  had  entrufted  the 
advanced  guard,  and  the  execution  of  his  firff  operations. 
-But  he  did  not  abandon  his  hopes  of  fuccefs.  He  con- 
certed new  means.  In  the  canals  between  Oudenlofch 
and  Scvenbsrgen,  he  found  23  veiTels  from  20  to  70  tens. 
fie  ordered  one  of  his  CommilTaries,  named  Bourher,  an 
indefatigable  and  intelligent  man,  to  make  them  fit  to 
carry  1200  men  ;  and  to  mount  four  of  them  with  cannon, 
for  the  advanced  guard  of  this  little  fquadron.  He  im- 
prclfrt!  all  the  carpenters  and  failors,  of  the  faiall  ports 

that 


that  are  to  be  found  in  that  part,  and  afligned  them  very 
confiderable  pay,  on  the  funds  already  railed  by  the  Dutch 
Committee,  on  the  credit  of  the  property  of  the  Prince  of 
Orange  and  his  known  pnrtizans. 

From  the  moment  that  Dumourier  entered  Holland, 
the  army  no  longer  ccfi  the  French  treafuiy  any  thine; 
more  than  the  daily  pay.  The  inhabitants  of  their  own 
accord,  furnifhed  provisions  and  forage,  as  well  as  money 
to  forward  the  expedition.  Never  was  an  army  received 
with  fuch  cordiality  ;  nor  ever  did  i'oldiers  lefs  merit  fuch 
reception  ;  the  Gendarmerie  and  light  troops  indulging 
themfelves  in  rapine  and  every  fpecics  of  oppreiTicn. 
But  from  the  difgrace  of  this  conduct,  the  troops  of  the 
line,  and  national  guards,  are  to  be  wholly  exempted  ; 
fince,  on  all  occafions,  thefe  conducted  themfelves  with 
urbanity  and  jufrice. 

As  it  demanded  time  to  prepare  the  veflels,  the  general 
made  another  important  change  in  his  iirft  plan.  Accor- 
ding to  that,  he  meant  to  deceive  and  evade  the  ftrong 
places  ;  and,  flealing  as  it  were,  between  them,  to  embark  . 
directly  at  the  Moor  Dyke.  After  that  he  would  have 
had  time  to  harrais  thofe  places  ;  and  relying  on  the 
iveaknefs  of  the  garrifons,  and  inexperience  of  the 
commanding  officers,  he  calculated  on  making  himfelf 
mailer  of  at  lead  one  of  them,  which  event  would  give 
great  relief  to  his  army,  and  furnifh  him  with  artillery 
and  ammunition,  in  both  of  which  he  was  extremely  ill 
provided. 

He  refolved  to  undertake  no  one  fiege  in  form.' — To 
prefs  a  regular  fiege  forward  with  vigour,  he  muft  have* 
aflembled  his  little  army  in  one  point,  and  thereby  ha»e 
given  the  enemy  an  opportunity  of  knowing  its  weaknefs  ; 
and,  being  no  longer  mailer  of  the  country,  it  would  have 
been  eafy  for  the  garrifons  that  were  not  attacked  to  re- 
cover from  their  furprife,  affcmble  troops  to  cut  off  his 
communication  with  Antwerp,  drive  away  his  workmen, 
and  deftroy  his  little  fleet,  without  which  he  had  nothing 
to  hope.  Wherefore,  while  Colonel  Le  Clerccontinued 
to  blockade  Bergen-op-Zoom  and  Steenberg,  he  ordered 
General  d'Arcon  to  attack  Breda,  and  his  advanced 
guard  at  the  fame  time  to  fall  upon  Klundert. 

Breda  is  a  town  celebrated  for  its  ilrengtru  It  was  fur- 
niihed  with  two  hundred  pieces  of  cannon,  was  well  pa- 
lifadoed,  and  protected  by  an  inundation.  Twelve  hun- 
dred infantry,  anda  regiment  of  dragoons,  garrifoncd  the 
place  ;  but  the  Governor,  the  Count  de  By  land,  was  a 

coui  tier* 


(     164    ) 

courtier,  and  had  feen  no  Jen- ice.  The  troops  bought 
their  bread  at  the  bakers,  their  meat  at  the  butchers, 
without  having  any  magazines.  The  Dutch  towns  are 
moil  of  them  well  protected  by  inundations,  and  abound 
with  ftrong  exterior  works  ;  but  are  greatly  deficient  in, 
calcinates,  and  the  inhabitants  are  greatly  diiariected  to 
the  government. 

General  d'Arcon,  without  opening  any  trenches,  erec~t- 
ed  two  batteries  of  four  mortars  and  four  howitzers,  ex- 
tremely near  the  town,  on  the  fide  of  the  village  of  Hc-ge. 
The  enemy  anfwered  by  a  very  brilk  fire,  during  three 
days  ;  on  the  fourth,  General  d'Arcon  had  no  more  than 
fixty  bombs  left,  and  mr.fl  have  been  under  the  neceffity 
of  railing  the  fiege  after  throwing  them  into  the  place. 
At  thismornentjColonel  Philip  deVaux,  an  Aid-de-Camp 
of  General  Dumourier,  entered  the  place  to  lummon  it 
for  the  fecond  time,  and  represented  to  the  Count  de 
Byland,  that  General  Dumourier  was  on  the  point  of  ar- 
riving with  his  whole  army,  and  that  then  no  quarters 
would  be  given  to  the  garrifon,  which  fo  alarmed  the  Go- 
vernor that  he  capitulated  with  the  confent  of  his  officers. 
The  honors  of  war  and  all  the  Governor's  demands  were 
granted  him.  The  French  entered  the  place  ;  which,  ex- 
cepting fome  few  houfes,  was  not  at  all  damaged.  They 
found  two  hundred  and  fifty  benches  a  feu*,  near  three 
hundred  thoufand  weight  of  powder,  and  five  thoufand 
fufees,  of  which  they  were  in  great  want.  This  fiege 
did  not  ccft  more  than  twenty  men  en  each  fide.  The 
French  carried  their  temerity  to  f;.;r  as  to  dance  the 
C&rmagnolt  on  the  glacis,  on  the  tide  which  was  not 
inundated.  Thirty  dragoons  cf  the  regiment  of  By- 
land  fallied  out  upon  theie  men,  killed  fome  and  returned 
with  fix  prilbners,  having  loft  two  or  three  men  and  fome 
o\  their  horfcs. 

The  befieging  army  amounted  to  no  more  than  five 
thoufand  men  ;  and,  of  theie,  twelve  hundred  were  de- 
tached to  feize  upon  forts  on  the  Unices,  on  the  fide  of 
Hucfden. 

Klundert  was  taken  in  two  days  after  the  furrender  of 
Breda.  The  works  cf  this  irrmil  iort  were  extremely  re- 
gular, and  the  place  was  protected  by  inundations  that 
entirely  furrounded  it.  It  was  defended  with  great  vigour* 
but  with  little  judgment,  by  a  lieutenant  colonel  in  the 

*  1  he  tranHaur  dees  i:?:  Luo\v  wb»J  iL.L  are. 

Dutch 


Dutch  fervice,  who  was  a  Weftphalian.  He  had  no 
more  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  men  in  the  place.  General. 
Berneron  had  erected  a  battery  of  four  cannon  and  a  num- 
ber of  final  I  mortars  dole  behind  the  dyke,  at  a  hundred 
and  fifty  toifcs  from  the  place  ;  fo  that  the  houfes  of  that 
imall  city  were  almoft  entirely  deftroyed.  The  com- 
manding officer,  after  keeping  up  an  almoft  inceflant  fire 
during  ieveral  days  with  little  effect,  and  having  no  long- 
er any  ihelterfor  his  troops,  refolved  to  fpike  his  cannon, 
and  to  endeavour  to  retreat  with  the  remainder  of  his  gar- 
rifon  to  Williamftadt.  He  was  intercepted  by  a  detach- 
ment of  the  Dutch  refugees,  commanded  by  Lieutenant 
Colonel  Hartmann,  whom  he  fhotdead,  receiving  at  the 
fame  time  a  ball  which  killed  him  on  the  fpot,  and  his 
men  \tere  made  prifoners.  The  French  carried  the  body 
of  this  officer  to  Klundert,  after  having  taken  the  keys  of 
the  town  which  were  found  in  his  pocket. 

In  this  place  were  found  fifty-three  pieces  of  cannon, 
fome  mortars,  a  great  quantity  of  bombs  and  mot,  and 
about  eighty  thoufand  weight  of  powder. 

General  Dumourier  loft  no  time  in  fending  Berneron 
to  befiege  Williamftadt.  And  it  was  with  the  ammuni- 
tion and  artillery  of  Klundert  that  the  new  fiege  was  un- 
dertaken. 

Dumourier  alfo  ordered  General  d'Arcon  to  commence 
the  fiege  of  Gcrtruydenberg.  This  imall  towrvwas  ill 
defended  on  the  fide  of  Ramfdoneck,  having  in  that 
quarter  only  a  flight  pallifadoe  along  the  river,  and  be- 
ing commanded  by  neighbouring  heights.  But  on  the 
left  fide  of  the  Donge,  it  was  protected  by  an  extenfive  in- 
undation, and  by  two  lines  of  extremely  ftrong  outworks, 
which  could  not  have  been  carried  in  three  weeks,  had 
they  been  ably  and  vigoroufly  defended.  1  he  garrifon  was 
compofed  of  the  regiment  ofHertzel,  amounting  to  be- 
tween eight  or  nine  hundred  men,  and  of  a  fine  regiment 
of  dragoons  belonging  to  the  Stadtholder's  guard.  The  go- 
vernor, named  Bedault,  a  major  general  in  the  fervice, 
was  an  old  man  of  eighty.  General  d'Arcon  began  the 
attack  with  cannon,  and  mortars  that  he  brought  from 
Breda.  All  the  outworks  were  carried,  or  abandoned  by 
the  enemy  on  the  fecond  day.  D'Arcon  erected  batteries 
on  fome  of  them  ;  and  after  a  few  (hot  were  exchanged, 
Colonel  de  Vaux  entered  the  place,  the  capitulation  was 
fettled,  the  honours  of  war  were  granted,  and  General  Du- 
mourier, 
Z 


{     '66    ) 

momief,  who  had  arrived  mean  tv  bile,  dined  with  the  old 
General  Bedault>  who  acknowledged  to  him  that  he  had 
iurrendered  becaufe  he  had  been  difappointed  in  his  ex- 
peditions of  receiving  veflcls  from  Dort  to  Gorcum,  to 
enable  him  to  evacuate  the  place.  A  few  bombs  had  fal- 
len on  the  city  and  one  on  the  general's  lionfe. 

During  dinner,  a  rncflfen'ger  came  to  inform  the  gover- 
nor that  the  terms  of  capitulation  had  been  violated  by  a 
lieutenant-colonel  of  the  National  guards,  who,  being 
drunk,  infolcntly  iniifted  on  entering  the  city  in  fpitc  of 
the  centirvels;  and  had  attempted  to  difcharge  apiftol  at  the 
lieutenant-colonel  of  the  regiment  of  Plirtzel.;  General 
Durnourier  ordered  the  drunkard  to  be  brought  into  the 
room,  tore  the  epaulet  from  his  moulder,  and  reduced  him 
to  the  ranks,  to  the  great  affonifhment  of  the  officers  of 
the  garrifon,  who  interceded  for  his  pardon. 

General  Durnourier  converfed  much  with  this  garriibii, 
which  confined  of  exceeding  fine  troops.  He  has  fre- 
quently fmce  thought  of  an  expreflion  of  the  lieutenant 
colonel  of  the  regiment  of  Hirtzel,  who  walking  with  him 
on  the  ramparts,  laid  Hodu  miki,  eras  tibi.  The  honeft 
Swifs  fpoke  prophetically. 

This  new  conqueft  gave  us  a  hundred  and  fifty  bandies 
a  feu,  two  hundred  thoufand  weight  of  powder,  a  quantity 
of  bombs  and  ball,  twenty-five  hundred  new  fuiees,  and 
what  was  moft  cflential  an  excellent  port,  and  more  than 
thirty  veflels  of  various  fizes.  We  had  aifo  taken  five 
veiTds  at  Breda. 

This  was  in  the  beginning  of  March.  While  thefe 
fie^es  were  carrying  forward,  the  general  palled  the 
greater  part  of  the  time  at  the  Moor  Dyke,  whence,  it  be- 
ing in  the  centre  of  his  operations,  he  directed  the  lieges 
on  his  right  and  left,  and  fuperintended  the  fitting  oiit  of 
his  fquadron.  I  Us  commiflary  Bourfier  having,  with  in- 
credible exei'tions,  found  means  to  arm  twenty-three  vef- 
fels,  and  to  victual  them  for  twelve  hundred  men,  the 
general  fent  them  down  the  canal  of  Sevenbergen  to  Roo- 
waert,  which  is  a  fmall  creek,  lying  a  quarter  of  a  league 
weft  of  the  Moor  Dyke. 

On  the  day  the  general  eftablimed  his  quarters  in  this 
village  with  an  hundred  Dutch  chafleurs  and  fifty  dra- 
goons, he  xvas  cannonaded  the  whole  day,  by  three  guard 
{hips.  Having  polled  his  chafleurs  along  fhe  Dyke,  by 
which  two  men  were  killed  on  board  the  veflels,  he  com- 
pelled them  to  abandon  their  fituation.  A  few  hours  af- 
ter, 


ter,  lie  ordered  twelve  twenty-four  pounders  from  Breda, 
together  with  ammunition,  and  constructed  feveral  batte- 
ries, one  of  which  was  at  Roowacit,  to  protect  the  failing 
of  his  fquadron,and  the  reft  at  the  Moor  Dyke  to  cover 
his  embarkment.  He  was  there  persuaded  that  his  cannon 
would  cany  more  than  half  way  oyer  the  canal  ;  and  in- 
deed the  enem)  '$  armed  (hips  did  not  again  approach 
the  fide  occupied  by  the  French. 

He  caufed  huts  covered  with  ftraw  to  be  raifcd  along 
the  fands  from  Roowaert  to  Swaluve.  There  the  ibldiers 
amufed  themfelves  and  were  extremely  happy,  but  impa- 
tient to  crofs  to  Dort.  Dumourier  jeftingly  told  them  that 
they  refembled  beavers  ;  and  he  named  this  aquatic  can- 
tonment, the  camp  of  Beavers.  Provifions  were  in  plen- 
ty ;  the  water  was  not  bad ;  and  brandy  ivas  diflributed  to 
the  troops  every  morning.  The  general  gave  his  troops 
an  example  of  firmnefs  ;  and  was  lodged  and  lived  like 
the  reft. 

In  this  expedition,  the  general  chalked  himfelf  out  a 
fyftem  for  carrying  on  war  in  countries  overflowed  by 
water.  It  would  not  be  impofilble,  by  means  of  dykes,  to 
march  over  any  part  of  Holland,  to  conduct  artillery,  and 
eftablim  batteries  at  pleafure  :  excepting  in  the  cafe  of 
being  oppofcd  by  gun-boats,  when  it  would  be  necelFary 
to  have  an  adequate  force  of  the  fame  nature. 

General  Dumourier  had,  among  his  battalions  of  volun- 
teers, feveral  mfn  from  Gafcony,  Brittany,  Normairdy, 
and  Dunkirk.  Of  thefe  men  he  formed  a  body  of  from 
four  to  five  hundred  failors,  giving  them  twenty  fols  per 
day  in  addition  to  their  pay.  The  general's  fquadron  at 
Roowaert  was  defigned  to  carry  his  advanced  guard,  and 
he  appointed  an  Englim  naval  ofiiccr,  und  a  lieutenant 
of  the  Dutch  navy  to  command  it ;  with  the  afliftance  of 
fome  pilots  belonging  to  the  country.  But  the  neceflaryde- 
lays  had  given  time  to  the  Dutch  to  augment  confiderably 
their  fquadron  in  the  Bi/bost  which  is  the  fmall  lea  of  thd 
Moor  Dyke,  That  fquadron  conftfted  already  of  twelve 
armed  fhips,  one  of  which  carried  twenty  guns  ;  and  thefe 
veflels  were  difpofed  of  with  great  judgment  for  oppo- 
fing  the  general's  pailage,  and  acling  in  concert.  But 
Dwnourier  calculated,  in  cafe  the  wind  fhould  be  fettled, 
that  not  more  than  half  the  fquadron  could  ongaee  him, 
as  thofe  which  iliould  be  to  leeward  of  him  would  not,  in 
jjhat  cafe,  be  a.ble  to  reach  him. 

The 
£3 


(     '68    ) 

The  Dutch  had  alfo  erected  batteries  at  Stry,  and  all 
along  the  coaft  of  the  illand  of  Dort  ;  which  it  was  faid 
was  reinforced  by  1200  of  the  Englifn  guards,  who  had 
landed  fince  the  declaration  of  war  at  Helvoet  Sluys.  The 
general  however  was  convinced  that  the  enemy  had  no 
certain  intelligence  of  his  plan,  bccaufe  the  Prince  of 
Orange  was  making  his  greateft  preparations  for  defence 
at  Gorcum,  and  had  allembled  an  army  there  to  oppofe 
his  march  :  this  army  was  yet  inconfiderable  ;  the  rein- 
forcements of  the  Englifh  and  emigrants  augmenting  it  to 
no  more  than  4030  men. 

Dumourier,  ftill  to  deceive  the  enemy  fefpe6ting  his 
real  defign,  continued  the  blockade  of  Bergen-op-Zcom 
and  Steenberg.  General  de  Flers  was  returned  from 
Paris,  and  had  obtained  the  reinforcement  that  he  de- 
manded, which  arrived  with  great  di (patch.  Durnourier 
ordered  him  to  occupy  the  cantonments  of  Colonel  Le 
Clerc  at  Rofendael,  and  round  Bergen -op-Zporn  with 
6000  men,  which  orders  were  rapidly  executed.  He  or- 
dered the  left  divifion  to  approach  Oudenboich,  and  Se- 
vernbergen.  He  fent  the  national  gendarmerie,  with  fome 
cavalry,  from  his  right,  to  {hew  themfelves  on  the  fide  of 
Heufden.  A  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  gendarmerie  fum- 
moned  that  place  ;  and,  ridiculoufly  enough,  addrefTed 
the  governor  by  the  phrafe  of  citizen  governor,  inftead  of 
the  ufual  appellation. 

General  Berneron  continued  the  fiege  of  Williamftadt ; 
but  with  very  ill  fuccefs.  He  had  commenced  his  attack 
at  too  great  adiftance  ;  and  confumed  a  great  quantity  of 
ammunition,  without  making  any  progrefs.  There  was 
but  one  front  of  this  town  which  was  open  to  attack,  and 
that  was  extremely  narrow  :  and  the  Dutch  had  thrown 
re-inforcements  into  the  town  by  fea.  Dumouricr  fent 
to  the  affiftance  of  General  Berneron,  Duboisde  Cmnce, 
(an  engineer  of  great  merit,  and  very  different  in  charac- 
ter from  his  unworthy  brother,  the  member  of  the  na- 
tional convention)  and  another  engineer  named  Marefcof. 
Thcfe  two  valuable  officers  refolved  to  draw  nearer  the 
town  ;  and  while  they  were  erecting  a  battery  at  the  dii- 
tancc  of  200  toifes  from  the  place,  they  were  abandoned 
by  their  foldiers,  and  were  fhin  in  a  fortie,  that  the  enemy 
made  on  the  workmen.  General  Berneron,  notwith- 
fhnding,  continued  the  fiege  obilinately,  which  was  not 
railed  till  after  the  departure  of  General  Dumourier  for 
the  grand  army. 

The 


The  general  having  found  a  confiderab'e  quantity  of 
(hipping  at  Gertruydenberg,  he  refolved  to.  ufe  them  in 
facilitating;  his  paffaefe  to  Dort.  lie  had  afufficient  num- 
ber of  veflels  at  Roowaert  for  his  advanced  guard.  Maf- 
ter  of  Breda,  Klundert,  and  Gertruydenberg,  and  leaving 
the  corps  under  General  de  Flers  to  continue  the  block- 
ade of  Steenberg  and  Bergen-op-Zoom,  he  had  fecurcd 
his  rear  guard  from  being  harraffed.  He  therefore  coufed 
his  rear  guard  to  advance  to  Swaluve,  at  which  place  there 
were  refills  for  its  embarkation  ;  and  he  relblved  to  em- 
bark his  right  divifion  in  the  veffels  of  Gertruydenberp> 

The  paffage  from  Gertruydenberg  to  the  ifland  of  Dort 
is  fomev/hat  longer  than  that  from  the  Moor  Dyke.  To 
the  right,  and  even  in"  front  of  this  port,  the  Biflos  is  filled 
with  fond  banks,  and  numerous  fmall  iflands  detached 
from  the  main  land  of  Gorcum  ;  moil  of  which  are  cover- 
ed with  trees  and  underwood.  The  armed  (hips  of  the 
enemy  drew  too  much  water  to  approach  thefe  iilands. 
There  were  however,  three  barks  each  carrying  four 
cannon,  and  thirty  men,  (rationed  at  different  points  to 
guard  the  p.iffage.  Beyond  thefe  fmall  iflands  many  of 
which  are  covered  by  the  tide  at  high  water,  was  fituated 
an  iiland  much  more  elevated  above  the  water  than  the 
fell,  on  which  was  a  fmall  farm  belonging  to  an  inhabi- 
tant of  Gertruydenberg.  This  ifland,  which  the  enemy's 
largeit  veffels  could  not  approach  within  feven  or  eight 
hundred  toifes,  was  feparated  from  the  iiland  of  Dort  only 
by  a  fpace  of  fix  hundred  toifes,  which  was  guarded  by  a 
battery  mounting  fix  cannon,  (landing  on  a  low  and  mud- 
dy foil  on  the  iiland  of  Dort,  and  by  a  frigate  of  fourteen 
guns,  flattened  under  the  battery. 

The  general  refolved  to  land  two  battalions,  with  fix 
four  and  twenty  pounders  in  this  ifland  ;  and  to  creel:  a 
battery  to  drive  clFthe  frigate,  whcfe  guns  appeared  to  be 
fmall.  Having  done  this,  he  defigned  to  embark  with 
his  right  divifion  in  thefmaller  vetTcls  belonging  to  Ger- 
truydenberg and  to  pals  over  in  the  fame  route. 

As  he  might  be  compelled  to  engage  one  of  the  veffels 
of  four  guns,  in  his  pafTage  to  the  iiland,  he  defigned  to 
fill  feveral  large  fhallops  with  chofen  men  on  board  that 
veffel,  and  ordered  two  veffels  each  carrying  two  cannon 
to  be  ready  to  precede  him,  giving  the  command  of  one  to 
an  Englifh  naval  ofr.cer  named  White,  and  of  the  other  to 
Lieutenant  Colonel  La  Rue,  an  aid-de-camp  of  the  gene- 
ral, who  had  been  in  the  ica-lerviee.  Every  preparation 

was 


(     '70    ) 

was  made  with  fuch  celerity  that  it  was  the  general's  dc- 
fign  to  have  attempted  the  paffageon  the  night  of  the  8th 
or  1 6th,  But  events  of  a  very  different  nature  were  ar- 
riving, and  the  rapidity  of  his  firft  luccefs  was  followed 
by  a  ft  ill  more  rapid  fucceflion  of  evils  which  decided  the 
fate  of  the  war. 

Dumourier  in  the  mid  ft  of  his  plans,  and  notwithftand- 
jng  his  fucceffes,  had  for  fome  days  been  a  prey  to  the 
greateft  uneafinefs.  The  fiege  of  Maeftricht  had  been 
commenced  on  the  2oth  of  February  ;  but  although  Ge- 
neral Miranda  had  let  fire  to  leveral  quarters  of  the  city, 
it  was  defended  it  with  extreme  obftinacy,  by  reinforce- 
ments of  the  emigrants,  who  affembled  there  in  great  num- 
bers, headed  by  M.  d'Autichamp,  a, lieutenant-general  Jr? 
the  army  of  the  Prince  of  Conde,  and  an  excellent  officer  ; 
to  whom  it  is  laid  the  Dutch  owe  the  fafety  of  the  city  of 
Maeftricht, 

General  Champmorin  had,  without  any  opppfition  made 
himfelf  mafter  of  the  fort  of  Stevenfwaert,  on  the  Meufe  ; 
•and  alfo  of  fort  St.  Michael, which  cornmandsthe  entrance, 
the  left  fide  of  that  river,  of  the  bridge  of  Venloo.  But 
he  had  not  been  able  to  take  poffeffion  of  Venloo,  the  Pruf- 
fians  having  already  entered  it. 

General  Valence,  although  he  poffeffed  military  talents, 
had  not  acquired  fufficient  authority  over  the  troops  effec- 
tually to  compenfate  for  the  abfence  of  Dumourier.  He 
remained  at  Leige  ;  and  had  neither  railed  the  winter  quar- 
ters of  the  troops,  nor  drawn  them  clofer  together.  And 
great  mifunderftandings  exifted  among  the  generals. 

General  Stengel  occupied  the  quarters  round  Aix-la- 
Chapclle.  He  was  an  officer  well  verfed  in  the  difci^ 
pline  and  duties  of  light  troops,  and  was  excellently  cal- 
culated to  command  an  advanced  guard. 

General  Dampierre  commanded  in  Aix-la-Chapelle, 
where  he  "Was  entirely  taken  up  with  his  pleafures,  and 
the  means  of  gratifying  his  rapacity.  He  was  a  man  of  a 
fierce,  and  ambitious  fpirit,  rath  in  the  extreme,  but  was 
without  talent,  and  was  even  timid  at  times  through  his 
exceffive  Ignorance.  He  hated  his  fuperiors  ;  and  ma- 
chinated with  the  Jacobins  of  Paris,  for  the  fabrication  of 
calumnies,  by  which  he  aimed  at  the  command  of  the  ar- 
mies. 

']  he  Prince  of  Coburg,  who  had  arrived  at  Cologne, 
was  acquainted  with  the  mifunderftandingsof  the  generals, 
jind  the  injudicious,  and  feeble,  difpofuion  of  the  troops. 

AfTemblini; 


Affemblinglns  army  he  inarched  to  Aldenhoven,  where 
he  penetrated  into  the  French  quarters  without  obftacle. 
The  French  inftantly  abandoned  all  their  polls,  without 
making  the  leaft  ftand  againft  the  enemy  ;  and  fell  back 
upon  Liege  in  the  greateft  confufion.  General  le  Vc- 
neur,  who  commanded  the  attack  of  Maeftricht  on  the 
fide  of  Wyck,  had  the  good  fortune  to  have  fufficienf 
time  to  pafs  the  Meufe  with  his  cannon.  The  Imperialifts 
entered  Maftricht.  Miranda,  notwithstanding  ought  to 
have  continued  the  bombardment  from  the  left  fide  of  the 
river;  and,  collecting  his  army  between  Tongres  and 
Maeftricht,  which  was  a  tolerable  pofition,  he  might  then 
have  prevented  the  further  progrefs  cf  the  Prince  of  Co- 
burg. 

Thefe  were  the  orders  given  to  Miranda  by  General 
Dumourier,  on  his  receiving  news  of  the  difafter.  This 
was  alfo  the  advice  of  General  Valence.  That  General 
a  few  days  after  faved  a  column  confifting  of  twenty-fe- 
tr en  battalions  on  their  retreat  from  Liege,  by  making  a 
vigorous  charge  on  the  enemy,  at  the  head  of  his  cavalry 
on  the  plains  of  Tongres  :  and  Lieutenant-General  La- 
noue  difplayed  the  greateft  bravery,  in  his  retreat  from 
Aix-la-Chapellc. 

But  Miranda  wasdifconcerted,  and  loft  all  prefence  of 
mind.  On  his  own  authority,  he  ordered  the  troops  to 
abandon  the  Meufe.  The  Imperialifts  followed  up  their 
victory,  palled  the  Meufe,  entered  Liege,  and  took  pcf- 
feflion  of  the  French  magazines,  which  were  confiderablc, 
cfpecially  in  the  article  of  cloathing.  So  great  was  the 
confternation  in  the  French  army,  that,  excepting  the 
heavy  artillery  which  was  carried  off  to  Louvain,  and 
from  thence  to  Tournay,  every  thing  was  abandoned, 
including  even  the  baggage  of  the  troops. 

The  two  generals,  Miranda  and  Valence,  aflembled 
their  forces  in  the  camp  of  Louvain.  Champorin,  who 
could  no  longer  maintain  his  pofition  on  the  left  fide  of 
the  Meufe,  evacuated  Stevenfwaert,  and  FortSt.M'chael, 
(in  which  places  he  ought  to  have  left  garrifons)  and  re- 
treated to  Dieft.  General  la  Marliere,  who  was  at  Rure- 
monde,  fell  back  to  the  fame  place.  This  retreat  left 
the  Pruflians  mafters  of  the  Lower  Meufe.  They  had 
it  in  their  power  inftantly  to  have  eroded  the  country  of 
Campine  ;  and,  by  the  route  of  Antwerp  or  Bois-lc-Duc, 
might  have  fallen  on  the  rear  of  the  French  army  in  Hol- 
land. 


land.  Prince  Frederick  of  Brunfvvick  loft  this  important 
opportunity  ;  and  General  Durr.ourier,  availing  himfelf 
of  the  neglect,  afterward  placed  his  army  in  fecurity. 

The  troops  under  Miranda  and  Valence,  were  utterly 
difcouraged.  1  hey  openly  blamed  and  menaced  their 
general  ofltcers,  more  efpecially  Miranda,  who  was  in 
confidcrable  danger  of  his  life.  At  length  however  Ge- 
neral Valence,  aided  by  the  prudence  of  General  Thou- 
venot,  refto'red  lome  degree  of  order  in  the  army.  But 
the  defertion  of  the  army  was  enormous.  More  than 
10,000  men  abfolutely  returned  to  Fiance.  The  army 
loudly  demanded  the  prefcnce  of  General  Dumourier. 
The  commiilloncrs  of  the  Convention  dilpatched  courier 
after  courier,  urging  his  departure  for  Louyain.  The 
general  conttantly  anfwered  them,  that  they  might  main- 
tain the  army  in  its  prefent  poin'on  ;  and  that  ilill  there 
was  nothing  to  be  feared  if  they. gave  him  time  to  aecom- 
plilh  his  prefent  object.  This  was  true.  General  Va- 
lence, and  General  Thouvenot  were  of  the  fame  opinion. 
But  Miranda  now  betrayed  a  terror  altogether  proportion- 
ate to  the  rafhnefs  which  had  hitherto  governed  him, 
which  juflified  the  difpatches  of  General  Valence,  who 
from  the  nift  predicted  this  check,  while  Miranda's  let- 
ters uniformly  aflerted,  that  the  army  of  the  Im-perialifis 
was  not  to  be  feared.  And  certainly  his  opinions  would 
have  been  juft,  if  the  French  had  taken  a  judicious  pofi- 
tion,  with  an  equal  force,  which  they  might  and  ought  to 
have  done.  It  was  to  be  presumed  that  the  Prince  of  Co- 
bourg  would  not  rnve  chofen  to  hazard  a  battle  ;  or,  if 
he  had,  the  French  had  no  reafon  to  fear  the  iffue. 

The  co'mmiffioners  of  the  Convention  him  led  precipi- 
tately to  Paris.  They  made  a  report  fo  alarming,  and 
painted  the  confirmation  of  the  foldiers  in  fuch  itrong co- 
lours, that  it  was  univerfally  acknowledged  that  General 
Dumourier  could  alone  flop  the  jpi  ogre  is  of  the  difafter, 
and  fave  the  army*  He  was  commanded  in  the  moil  ab- 
iblute  terms,  to  abandon  the  expedition  of  Holland,  and 
inftantly  to  put  himielf at  the  head  of  the  grand  army.  He 
received  the  orders  on  the  evening  of  the  8th  of  March, 
and  departed  on  the  <jth,  in  a  itate  bordering  no  defpair. 

Dumourier  gave  the  command  of  his  army  to  General 
de  Flers.  He  knew  the  capacity  of  this  general  to  be  in- 
adequate to  the  tafk  ;  but  he  had  not  another  general 
officer  he  could  put  in  his  place.  General  d'Arcon  was 
extremlv  afflicted  with  the  sjout,  and  could  not  keep  the 


(     '73     ) 

fteld,  and  had  even  refufed  the  rank  of  lieutenant-gene- 
ral, which  Dumourier  would  have  obtained  for  him,  sa 
a  reward  for  the  taking  of  Breda.  He  retired  to  Antwerp. 
Lieutenant  General  Marafle ,  an  old  foldier,  who  com- 
manded at  Antwerp,  could  not  on  account  of  his  great 
age,  be  enti ufted  in  an  active  fituation,  although  he  was 
a  man  of  courage  and  experience.  And  it  was  Dumou- 
rier's  defign  to  fend  General  Miranda  into  Holland,  on 
his  arrival  at  the  grand  army. 

Dumourier  left  Colonel  Thouvenot,  who  was  the  foul 
of  his  little  army,  with  General  de  Flers.  He  gave  the 
colonel  a  copy  of  the  inftru&ions  he  had  delivered  toGene- 
ral  de  Flers,  whom  he  recommended  to  undertake  no  en- 
terprize  without  the  concurrence  of  Colonel  Thouvenot. 
He  ordered  him  inftantly  to  attempt  the  paffage  of  Ger- 
truydenberg  ;  and,  in  cafe  of  fuccefs,  to  forward  dif- 
patches  to  Dumourier,  and  to  remain  at  Dort  till  he 
ih«uld  receive  his  further  inftruclions. 

But  the  departure  of  General  Dumourier,  utterly  dif- 
pirited  this  army.  Thofe  who  h»ci  been  moft  forward, 
impatient,  and  daring,  on  every  occafion,  now  cofider- 
ed  the  undertaking  to  be  impracticable.  In  truth,  it 
became  fuch  ihortly  afterward.  The  Dutch  fquadron  be- 
ing reinforced,  and  the  Piudians  being  on  their  march 
by  Bois-le-duc,  de  Flers,  in  purfuanceof  his  inftruclions 
in  the  cafe  of  the  paffage  to  Dort  not  taking  place,  threw 
himfelf  into  Breda,  with  fix  battalions  and  two  hundred 
horfe,  Colonel  Tilly  into  Gertruydenberg,  with  thre* 
battalions,  and  fifty  horfe,  The  remainder  of  the  army- 
returned  lafely  to  Antwerp,  owing  to  the  good  conduct 
of  Colonel  de  Vaux,  and  Colonel  Thouvenot.  Thofe 
officers  withdrew  from  the  batteries  of  the  Moor  Dyke, 
with  the  greateft  prudence,  and  conftancy  ;  and^lthou^h 
the  army  was  thrown  into  diforder,  they  effected  the  re- 
treat without  lofs.  The  fortifications  of  Klundert  were 
blown  up  bv  Thouvenot,  who  had  not  time  to  put  that 
fmall  fort  in  a  ft  ate  of  defence. 

And  thus  terminated  Dumourier's  enterprize  againft 
Holland.  t  An  enterprize,  projected  and  begun  in  ten 
days,  which  did  not  burthen  France  with  tbe  additional 
charge  of  one  fol,  and  which  probably  had  fuccecded  but 
for  the  unfortunate  retreat  of  Aix-la-Chapelle. 

Two  ftrong  places  were  acquired  in  this  expedition,  by 
which  the  progrefs  of  the  enemy  might  have  been  arrefted  ; 
and  which  might  ferve  as  magazines,  and  a  place  of  arms, 

A  a  if 


if  th.e  dtfiga  of  entering  Holland  bad  Veen  refumec;.  Iii 
a  word,  France  reaped  no  cifgrace  in  this  quarter.  Cut 
now  Dumourier's  projects  were  oncerrore  charged  ;  anil 
he  was  again  compelled  to  form  new  p'ans,a  well  rerpccl- 
ing;the  interior  iHuatiou  of  France,  as  with  refpecl  to 
her  enemies. 


CHAP.        IV. 

The -General  arrives  at  Antwerp.  Sends  the  Agents  of  the 
Executive  Power  from  that  Town.  Arrives  at  Brujfels. 
Addre/fes  the  Representatives  of  the.  People.  Writes  to 
the.  Convention.  Arrcfis  Chepy,  and  FJhenns.  Several 
Proclamations.  Arrives  on  the  lojh  cf  March  at  Lou- 
vain.  The  Commijjioners  of  the. Convention  come  to  that 
City  to  meet  the  General. 

NOTWITHSTANDING  the  importance  of  the  con- 
cerns which  had  occupied  General  Dumourier's  mind, 
imce  his  departure  from  Paris,  he  had  not  overlooked, 
nor  failed  to  lament  as  much  as  the  Belgians  themfelves, 
thedeteftable  tyranny  excrcifed  over  them  by  the  National 
Convention,  and  by  the  agents  of  the  Executive  Fewer. 
The  infolence  of  thefe  latter,  the  Satellites  of  avarice  and 
onpretlion,  was  not  exceeded  even  by  their  atrocious  vil- 
lainies.— Their  conclwft  was  a  tiflue  of  ridiculous  circum- 
ftances.  Moft  of  them  a  (Turned  the  military  honors, 
and  never  walked  the  ftreets  without  a  guard.  Thev 
let  all  rules  at  defiance  ;  and,  finding  that  they  were 
not  luflicientlv  numerous  to  fpread  their  extortions 
through  the  whole  extent  of  thofe  rich  provinces,  they 
augmented  their  means  by  ifluing  commiitions  to  other 
perfons  like  themfclves. 

In  paifinp;  through  Bruges  the  General  wss  invited  to 
a  ball*  One  of  theic  gentlemen,  who  was  dancing,  ac- 
cofted -the  General  on  his  entering  the  room;  and  an- 
nouncing himfelf  as  a  Commiffioner  of  the  Executive  Pow- 
er, he  acquainted  the  General  that  he  was  on  his  rend  to 
Oftend  and  Nieuport,  to  put  thofe  places  in  a  proper  ftafe 
of  defence.  The  General  fternly  commanded  him  to  con- 
fine himfelf  to  the  functions  of  his  office  ;  to  execute  thoie. 
with  modefty  j  and  thenceforward,  to  forlpear  intruding 

himfelr 


himfelf  into  military  concerns. 

Another  of  thefe  perfonages,  named,  as  I  think,  Lieu- 
taud,  who  was  Rationed  at  Ruremonde,  as  a  talk-mailer 
to  General  la  Mariierc,  wrote  a  long  letter  to  Dumourier, 
Tkouing  and  Tkeeing  him  throughout,  and  commanding 
him  to  abandon  every  other  enterprizc,  in  order  to  march 
to  the  afMance  of  Ruremonde.  The  General  lent  this 
letter  to  Le  Brim,  contenting  himfelf  with  adding  by 
\vay  of  poftfcript,  This  letter  ought  to  be  datzd,  CHAREN- 
TON. 

A  third,  nam^d  Cochelet,  who  redded  at  Liege,  having 
received  notice  of  the  declaration  of  war  decreed  on  the  firll 
bFFebruity,  ordered  a  detachment  of  troops  to  attend  him, 
and,  marching  on  the  Dutch  territory  before  Maeflricht, 
proclaimed  the  war,  tore  up  the  pofts  on  which  were  the 
arms  of  the  States  General,  and  took  pofTeffion  of  the  Se- 
ven United  Provinces,  in  the  name  of  the  French  Repub- 
lic. 

This  impertinent  parade  ferved  as  a  warning  to  the 
Governor  of  Maeftricht  to  withdraw  his  cavalry  cantoned 
round  the  city,  (together  with  a  considerable  quantity  of 
forage)  which  General  Miaczynfky  was  on  the  point  of  i'ur- 
prifing.  General  Miranda  naturally  condemned  this  con- 
duit, becaufe  he  was  not  yet  prepared  to  a<St  againft 
Maeftricht.  Cochelet  fent  the  General  a  written  order  to 
take  Maeftricht  before  the  2oth  of  February,  on  pain  of 
being  denounced  as  a  traitor  ;  and  he  fent  a  copy  of  the 
letter  to  the  National  Convention,  who  applauded  his 
Roman  firmnefs.  Cochelet,  however,  was  recalled  ;  be- 
caufe, intoxicated  with  the  honors  of  his  proconfulfhip,  he 
had  treated  contemptuoufly  the  authority  of  the  deputies 
of  the  Convention. 

When  General  Dumourier  arrived  at  Antwerp  on  the 
fecond  of  February,  he  found  that  city  humiliated  and  ter- 
rified by  the  prefence  of  one  of  thefe  fubaltern  tyrants, 
whofe  name  he  has  forgotten,  and  whom  he  caufeji  to 
be  recalled.  Every  city  in  Belgium  v/as  governed  by 
one  or  more  of  thefe  execrable  Proconfuls.  They  enter- 
ed on  their  office  by  fequeftering  the  filver  of  the  churches, 
the  revenues  of  the  clergy,  and  the  eftates  of  the  nobility. 
They  th  m  pillaged,  or  fold  to  the JT accomplices  at  an  ex- 
celfively  inferior  price,  the  furniture  of  the  nobles  and 
clergy.  They  fupprefled  the  national  impofts  to  flatter 
the  people,  degraded  the  magiftrates  from  their  feats,  ereci- 
A  a  2  e 


ed  clubs,  and  excrcifed  an. arbitrary  authority,  by  the  aid 
of  the  military,  who  blindly  obeyed  them. 

Throughout  the  provincesof  Belgium  this  wild  tyranny 
was  become  insupportable.  Dumourier  had  made  reiter- 
ated complaints  of  this  tyranny  to  the  Convention,  as  well 
as  to  the  Cornmidioners  of  the  Convention,  Camus,  Treil- 
hard,  Merlin  and  GolTuin,  whom  he  met  at  Ghent;  but 
theie  latter  either  were  not  willing,  or  had  not  authority 
to  redreis  the  evil.  He  reprefented  to  them,  that  on  the 
Prin.-:«?  of  Coburg's  appearing  in  force  on  the  frontier,  a 
general  infu  reciion  of  the  Belgians  was  to  be  expected, 
that  our  weakened  garrifons  would  be  maiTacred,  and  our 
crimes  punilhed  by  the  hands  of  thofe  we  had  oppreffed  ; 
and  that  this  war  was,  in  a  manifold  degree,  more 
dangerous  than  the  war  with  the  Impenalifts. 

The  route  of  the  troops  at  Aix-la  Chapelie,  their  pre- 
cipitate flight  to  Louvain,  their  confunon,  terror,  and 
defertion,  greatly  increafed  the  danger,  which  Du- 
mourier  had  forefeen,  of  a  general  iniurre&ion  in  Bel- 
gium. 

The  danger  was  aggravated  by  the  conduct  of  the 
Commiffioncrsof  the  Convention.  They  called  on  the 
provinces  to  exprefs  their  refolution  of  being  united  to 
France,  The  people  were  affembled  in  the  churches 
without  any  order  or  decency.  A  French  Commiffioner, 
fupported  by  the  commanding  officer  of  the  place,  by 
ibldiers,  and  by  French  and  Bclgic  Clubifts,  read  the 
a6l  of  union,  which  feldom  was  underilood  by  any  perfon 
prefent,  any  more  than  the  harangue  made  on  the  occa- 
iion ;  the  acl  was  notwithflanding  figned  by  the  audience, 
generally  with  trembling  hands  ;  reports  of  the  proceed- 
ings were  printed,  and  fent  to  the  Convention,  who  forth- 
with created  another  department. 

Thele  fraternal  proceedings  were  often  efFecled  by  vi- 
olence. At  Brufrels  and  at  Mons,  mufkets  and  fabres  were 
employed  in  the  aflembly,  and  feveral  perfons  were 
wounded.  Protefts  were  formally  made  againft  the  union. 
Partial  infurre6tions  took  place  at  Wawres,  Hall,  Braine, 
andSoigntes.  The  rnoft  dangerous  was  at  Grammont.  Ten 
thoufand  peafants  affembled  in  arms,  and  had  pefleffed 
fhemfeives  of  feveral  cannon.  They  imprifoncd  the  Com- 
rniffioners,  and  drove  back  detachments  of  the  gacrilbn  of 
Ghent.  Thefe  tumults  increafed  hourly.  The  French  ar- 
rny,  fcarcely  in  force  te  **£ft  fhe  Irnperialifts ,  coujd  not 

fparc 


(     '77    ) 

•fpare  troops  fo  put  an  end  to  thefe  cruel  confefts,  which 
were  fpreading  over  the  whole  of  Belgium ;  and  it  had  been 
eafy  tor  a  few  Flemifh  officers  belonging  to  the  Imperial 
army,  with  fome  chofen  foldiers,  to  have  infinuatedthem- 
•felves  into  the  French  quarters,  by  means  of  their  know- 
ledge of  the  language,  and  to  have  given  a  regular  form 
to  this  inteftine  war. 

Dumourier  hated  the  injuftice  of  the  National  Conven- 
vention,  and  refilled  every  attenjpt  to  make  him  the  in- 
ftrument  of  its  tyranny  and  the  fcourge  of  Belgium.  A 
two-fold  intereft  therefore  directed  his  conduct  at  prefent. 
His  objects  were  to  deliver  this  unhapy  country,  and  to 
lave  his  army.  As  to  his  fuccefs  in  the  former,  he  invokes 
the  teftimony  of  the  Belgians,  from  whom  he  recei- 
ved the  moft  honourable  marks  of  efteern  and  gratitude, 
in  travelling  through  that  country,  when  he''  no  longer 
poflefled  the  influence  of  (lation. 

Arriving  at  Antwerp  on  the  nth,  he  found  that  city 
in  the  greateft  confufionand  alarm.  A  Commiflioner  of 
the  Executive  Power,  named  Chauflart,  who  modefUy 
furnamed  hirnfe!f  Publicola,  had  recently  removed  the 
magiftrates,  and  had  iflued  orders  to  arreft  them  and  the 
Other  principal  citizens,  to  the  number  of  fixty-feven.. 
General  Marafle  eluded  the  execution  of  this  order,  with 
which  he  was  charged  by  Publicola  ;  but  the  bifhop  of  Ant- 
werp and  the  other  profcribed  perfons  were  either  fled  or 
had  concealed  themfelves*  Dumourier  fent  a  written  or- 
der to  ChaufTart  and  his  colleagues,  to  quit  Antwerp,  and 
t»  go  to  Bruflels  inftantly,  declaring,  in  cafe  of  difobedi- 
ence,  that  he  would  give  orders  to  General  Marafle 
to  take  them  there  by  force.  Chauffarl  came  to  the  Ge- 
neral with  much  dignity,  or  infolence,  and  complained 
of  this  order,  faying,  that  it  feemed  to  be  dictated  by  a 
Vizir.  The  General  anfwered  with  good  humour,  I  am 
certainly  as  much  of  a  Vizir,  as  you  are,  of  Publicola* 

General  Dumourier  compelled  Chauflart  to  quit  the 
town  immediately.  Fie  reinftated  the  magiilrates,  and  re- 
ftored  the  peace  of  that  important  city.  He  ifTued  an  or- 
dinance, prohibiting  the  Jacobin  club  in  any  degree  to 
interfere  in  public  affairs.  He  commanded  General 
Marafle  to  wall  up  the  door  of  the  hall  where  the  club  af-r 
iembled,  to  imprifon  every  member  that  difobeyed  this 
ordinance,  to  print  the  order  in  both  languages,  and  ta 
f  oft  it  up  and  pub'iih  it  througiwot  the  city. 

Dumourier 


Durrsourier  afterwards  departed  for  Bruffels.  Having 
received  complaints  from  that  city  of  the  attrocious  ccn- 
du£V  of  General  Moretern,  he  had  a  few  days  previous  to 
•his  departure  removed  him  from  the  command  ;  which  he 
had  conferred  on  Lieutenant-General  Duval.  Moreton 
at  firft  refufed  to  obey  the  General  ;  but  in  confequencc 
of  an  order  from  the  minifter  at  war>  he  took  upon  him  the 
command  at  Douay,  where  he  had  an  opportunity  of  pur- 
fuing  his  former  fyftemof  conduft  till  his  death. 

General  Duval  was  an  extremely  good  officer,  and  it 
was  the  ill  Oate  of  his  health  alone  which  prevented  his 
being  with  the  army.  He  had  ferved  the  preceding  year 
with  great  reputation  and  fuccefs.  His  judgment  was 
clear,  he  abounded  in  the  qualities  that  beget  efteem,  and 
was  perfectly  calculated  to  heal  the  wounds  inflicted  by 
Moreton's  tyranny. 

D-ival  gave  the  general  a  more  particular  account, 
than  he  had  hitherto  received,  of  thediforderand  confter- 
nation  that  reigned  among  the  troops  aflembled  at  Lou- 
vain,  from  which  place  Duval  had  recently  arrived.  Al- 
rnoft  all  the  tents  had  been  loft  in  the  retreat.  There 
was  not  left  a  fufficient  number  to  encamp  half  the  army  J 
yet  it  was  irapoffible  to  reftore  any  degree  of  courage  to 
the  troops,  or  to  make  any  movement  with  fafety,  with- 
out encamping  them  for  a  while.  A  great  part  of  the 
field  pieces  had  been  alfo  loft. 

The  general  officers  commanding  the  artillery,  receiv- 
ing no  orders  during  the  confufion  cf  the  retreat,  nor  in- 
deed demanding  any,  held  a  council  of  war  among  them* 
felves,  in  which  it  was  refolved  to  carry  cffthe  whole  park 
of  artillery  and  conduct  it  into  France.  All  the  twenty- 
four  pounders,  the  fixteen  pounders,  the  mortars,  and  pon- 
toons, were  already  at  Tcurnay,  on  their  route  to  France  ; 
fortunately,  however,  the  heavy  artillery,  and  the  how- 
itzers, were  ftill  at  Anderletcht.  Thefe  latter  the  gene- 
ral ordered  to  join  the  army  at  Louvain  ;  and  thofe  aj 
Tournay  not  to  proceed  on  their  route  to  France. 

Bruffels  was  filled  with  officers  and  fpldiers  of  the  ar- 
my, who  were  on  their  return  to  France.  The  general 
fcnt  them  back  te  the  camp  at  Louvain  ;  and  difpatchcd 
orders  to  Tournuy  and  Mons,  and  the  cities  in  the  de- 
partment o(  thr  north,  to  nrreft  and  fend  back  to  the  ar- 
my all  the  fugitives  returning  into  France.- 

Pum our I'.'r  ordered  General  Stengel,  who  had  retired 
to  Nr.nr.ir,  r.n/j  frvvo  iqtiadrcns  of  huiTars,  to  join  the  army* 

General 


(     179    ) 

G?.encrai  Neullly,who  was  in  his  winter  quarters  in  the 
country  of  Stavclo,  with  the  ha  if  of  the  advanced  guard 
of  the  army  of  the  Ardennes,  at  the  time  of  the  flight  from 
Aix-la-Chapelle,  had  alfo  retired  to  Namur,  and  the  ge- 
neral ordered  him  to  port  his  troops  at  Judoignc,  to  ie- 
cure  the  communication  between  the  grand  army,  and 
the  corps  commanded  by  Lieutenant-general  d'Harvilie. 
To  General  d  'ilarville,  he  lent  repeated  orders  to  en- 
camp his  troops,  or,  if  he  had  not  a  fufficient  number  cf 
tents  for  the  purpofe,  to  make  his  cantonments  as  connect- 
ed and  compadt  as  poffible,  in  order  to  prevent  the  Prince 
of  Hohenloe  and  General  Bcauiieu,  from  forcing  the  pa  f- 
fage  of  the  Meufe,  or  turning  the  right  of  the  army,  and 
i'o  falling  upon  BruiTels  and  Mcns.  The  garrifon  of. 
BruiTels  was  by  no  means  ftrong,  yet  the  general  was 
obliged  to  felett  fome  of  its  bed  battalions  to  reinforce  the 
army. 

Ten  thoufand  men  hailily  raifed  in  the  department  of 
the  north  were  fent  to  the  army.  This  reinforcement 
was  greatly  beaded  of.  The  name  of  centurions  had 
been  given  t»  theie  troops.  They  confided  of  companies" 
which  were  nominally  a  hundred  men  each,  but  were,  in 
fact,  much  below  that  number,  cornpofed  of  old  men  and 
-children,  armed  with  pikes,  culavTes,  fowling  pieces,  and 
piftols.  They  had  been  promifed  twenty  fols  per  day, 
and  were  defigned  to  garrifon  the  towns  of  Belgium,  but 
not,  as  they  themfelves  laid,  to  defend  them,  or  to  fis;ht*. 
This  militia,  the  offspring  of  a  plan  of  Goffuin  and  Mer- 
lin, ferved  only  to  heighten  the  embarraffment,  confufion, 
and  want  of  difcipline,  which  already  prevailed,  and  the 

funeral  was  impatient   till   he   had    fent  them   back  to 
ranee. 

But  an  object  even  more  important  to  General  Du- 
rnourier,  than  thefe  concerns,  was  to  calm  the  minds  of 
the  Belgians^and  to  reftore  public  confidence  throughout 
the  country,  by  putting  a  final  period  to  the  lydem  under 
which  they  had  fu.ffered.  lie  was  not  ignorant  that'  in 
this  attempt  he  fhould  excite  the  Jacobins,  and  the  conven- 
tion, to  proceed  to  extremity  with  him.  The  time,  how- 
ever, for  conciliatory  ineafurer,as  wellas  for  deliberation, 
was  entirely  palled  :  fo  great  were  the  evils  to  be  reme- 


*  -  de  gardcr  let  plticfsde  la  £clgiyiict  tna'-s  nin  f>a£t  Jifuwit  ii*,  de  les 
findrt.  Til  dejairt  L^utrre* 


died, 


f     180     ) 

died,  fo  enormous  the  \vrcngs  that  had  been  dpne  to  the 
Belgians,  and  10  immediately  was  the  danger  of  vengeance 
being  taken  by  that  people. 

A  few  days  before  Dumourier  arrived  at  BrufTels,  Chepy 
had  urged  General  Duval  to  order  ieveral  executions. 
He  threatened  to  fire  Bruflels,  or  to  put  it  to  the  fword. 
He  had  arreited  ieveral  of  the  wealthier!  citizens,  and  fent 
them  to  be  confined  in  the  fortrefles  of  the  department  of 
the  north.  General  Dumourier  now  arrefted  him,  and 
lent  him,  under  a  guard,  to  Paris. 

The  legion  of  Sans-Culottes^  raifed  by  General  More- 
ton,  and  compofed  of  the  loweft  of  the  populace,  held  the 
city  in  awe,  and  daily  committed  unheard  of  cruelties  and 
extortions.  A  Frenchman,  a  man  of  abandoned  charac- 
ter, named  Eftienne,  commanded  it,  with  the  title  of  Ge- 
neral. Dumourier  threw  him  into  prifon,  and  published 
an  ordinance,  breaking  this  corps,  and  forbidding  all  per- 
fons  to  diftinguiPnthemielvesby  the  name  of  Sans- culottes. 

He  avTembled  the  magiftrates  of  the  city.  He  befought 
them  before  all  the  people,  not  to  attribute  to  the  French 
nation,  crimes  committed  only  by  individuals.  He  fo- 
lemnly  promifed  to  punifh  the  guilty,  and  to  reft  ore  to 
their  families,  peaceable  citizens,  who  had  been  torn  from 
them,  under  the  pretence  of  ferving  as  hoftages  to  France. 
The  reprefentatives  of  the  people  ihed  tears  of  gratitude,, 
and  caufed  accounts  of  thefe  interefting  proceedings  to  be 
publilhed. 

General  Dumourier  JfTued  'a  proclamation  to  authorife 
the  citizens  to  deliver  complaints  to  the  magiitrates,  re- 
fpeciing  vexations  committed  by  the  French,  and  em- 
powering the  fn a  gift  rates  to  verify  arid  give  a  legal  form 
to  thefe  complaints.  By  another  proclamation,  he  prohi- 
bited the  clubs  from  interfering  in  public  affairs,  and  by 
another,  he  commanded  all  the  facred  vales,  to  be  reftored 
to  the  churches,  enjoining  the  magiftrates  and  military 
officers  to  aid  in  reftoring  them. 

Thefe  proclamations  were  printed  in  both  languages, 
and  fent  into  every  part  of  Belgium.  Their  effect,  was 
immediate.  The  inhabitants  of  Grammont  wrote  to  the 
general,  that  they  laid  down  their  arms.  Peace  was  re- 
ftored between  the  French  and  the  Belgians.  Thefe  wor- 
thy people  forgot  4he  evils  they  had  fuffered,  and  agai^n 
embraced  the  French  as  their  brethren  and  defenders.  In- 
deed it  is  but  juft  to  fay,  the  garrifons  had  always  conduct- 
ed themfelves  in  a  manner  no  ways  difcreditable,  efpe- 

cially 


daily  in  ttoe  great  cities  ;  and,  had  it  not  been  for  the  de- 
cree "of  the  1  5th  of  December,  and  the  conduct  of  the  a- 
gents.of  the  executive  power,  the  French  character  would 
have  been  efteerned  and  beloved  in  that  country. 

On  the  I2tfy  of  March,  Dumourier  wrote  a  letter  to  the 
National  Convention,  which  appeared  fo  deplorably  true 
"in  its  contents,  that  the  Prefident  and  committee  to  which 
it  was  referred,  did  not  dare  to  read  it  in  the  Tribune. 
A  copy  of  the  letter  Hole  abroad,  and  was  printed  at  Ant- 
werp. In  it  the  general  frankly  ftated  to  lh£  convention, 
the  meafureshe  had  been  compelled  to  purfue  in  order  to 
fave  Belgium  and  the  French  army.  He  referred  the 
Convention,  for  minute  information  on  each  point,  to  the 
rninifter,  to  whom  he  fent  copies  of  the  proclamation^ 
and  an  oc  count  of  his  proceedings,  demanding  of  him,  that 
he  mould  produce  the  whole  to  the  convention,  without 
referve  or  difguife. 

He  fent  for  the  commiiTary  Petit-  Jean,  and,  aiTeinbling 
all  the  adminiftrators  of  provifions,  &c.  he  informed  them, 
that  he  was  on  the  eve  of  making  a  great  movement, 
with  the  army,  and  in  a  few  days  would  engage  the  ene- 
my ;  and  he  made  fuch  arrangements  with  them  as  were 
necefTary  to  his  purpofe.  He  almo'l  immediately  procu- 
red provisions  for  fifteen  days,  and  prepared  his  travelling 
hofpital  to  attend  the  army. 

The  pay-mailer  of  the  army  had  retired  to  L'ile,  with 
two  millions  of  Livres  in  fpecie,  and  the  general  wrote 
to  the  commandant  of  Lifle,  to  fend  him  back  to  the  army 
with  a  ftrong  efcort. 

General  Dumourier  harranged  the  garrifon  at  BruiTels, 
with  fuch  etfecl,  that  the  different  corps  demanded  leave 
to  follow  him  againft  the  enemy.  He  departed  on  the  eve- 
ning of  the  12th  of  March,  for  Louvain. 

Before  we  enter  on  the  hiftoiy  of  the  military  opera- 
tions that  follow,  and  tint  we  may  not  be  obliged  to  in- 
terrupt them,  it  will  be  neceftary  to  fpeak  here  of  the  vifii 
which  the  general  received  at  Louvain  from  the  com- 
ir.iflioners  of  the  National  Convention..  When  the  <Jii~ 
after  befel  the  army,  Camus,  Treiihard,  Merlin,  and  Gof~ 
fuin,  retired  to  the  frontiers  of  France,  while  L,a  Croix 
and  Danton,  v/ent  to  Paris.  When  the  former  knew  cf 
the  general's  arrival  from  Holland,  they  proceeded  to  Lou- 
to meet  him,  havin  milled  him  at  Bruflels, 

pro- 
be 
B'b 


Camus,  and  Treiihurd  complained  of  the  general's  pr 
n^itions,  efncciciDv  th.U  which  ordered  the  filver  to 


{       183       ) 

r'eftored  to  the  churches.  They  told  the  general  that  he. 
ought  not  to  have  acled  with  fuch  precipitation,  but  have 
waited  their  ariival,  and  that  it  was  beyond  the  bounds 
'of  his  authority  to  interfere  with  the  adminiftration  of  the 
civil  government.  The  general  anfwcred  that  the  fir  ft 
of  all  duties  was  that  of  attending  to  the  public  iafety  ; 
that  the  convention  might  be  deceived,  as  indeed  they  had 
been,  by  their  emiilaries  ;  that  the  who]e  weight  of  the 
xvar,  the  honour  of  the  nation,  and  the  prefervation  of 
the  army,  refted  upon  him  ;  that  for  theie  he  was  rcfpon- 
'fible*  not  orrly  to  his  fuperiors,.  but  to  pcfteiity  ;  that  he 
had  undertaken  no  meafure  inconfiderately,  but  after  the 
matured  deliberation  ;  that,  had  they  been  prefem,  lie 
ihould  not  have  confulted  (hem,  although  he  ihould  have-, 
endeavoured  to  have  won  them  to  adt  with  him,  in  putting 
an  end  to  the  crimes,  which  had  long  opprefled  the  Bel- 
gians and  di (honoured  France  ;  and,  had  they  oppoled  his 
intentions,  he  would  notvrithft  a  riding  have  iflued  the  prpt» 
clamations. 

He  appealed  particularly  to  Camus,  who  was  religious 
and  iuperfHtious,  on  the  proclamation  that  refpedied  the 
churches.  He  exprefled  his  furprife,  that  a  man,  who 
pro fe fled  a  zeal  for  religion,  mould  be  the  advocate  of  a 
iacrilege  committed  on  a  people,  whom  the  French  con- 
fidered  as  allies  and  friends.  Go  to  the  church  oj  St.  Gu- 
dule,  Dumourier  laid  to  him,  fee  the.  hojl  trodden  under 
foot,  and  wafted  on  the  pave?nent ;  the  altars  broken  :  and 
paintings,  the  mafter  pieces  of  art,  torn  intojhreds  ;  and 
juftify  ttiefe  profanations,  or  rather  own  the.  nece/fity  of 
funi/liing  the  agents  ^f  your  criminal  orders.  IJ  the  Con- 
tention applaud  theft  crimes,  if  Jhe  have  no  feeling  of 
their  enormity,  flie  is  to  be  pitied  ;  and,  Jldlmore,  -my.  un- 
happy country.  Know,  that  if  my  country  cannot  be  /avtd, 
without  the  cammijjion  of  crimes,  .1  will  not  commit  them* 
But  here  the  crimes  of  France  are  ready  to:  turn  upon  ker- 
fij  ;  and  I  feme  her  in  endeavouring  to  dejlroy  them. 

Camus  obierved  the  great  difficulty  there  would  be  Jn 
reftoring  the  velTels  to  the  churches,  fmce  tliey  had  been 
broken,  to  be  heaped  in  cotters-  No  matter,  the  general 
laid  ;  fines  the.  metal  remains,  it  will  not  cojl  us  muck  tt 
have  them  remade. 

Camus  and  Treiljiard  perfifled  in  faying  that  the  gene- 
raj  had  failed  in  refpeit  and  obedience  due  to  the 
Convention.  Merlin  and  Gofluin,  more  reafonable, 
Jhat  the  gen-etal's  conduct  had  been  juft. 

and 


{     -83    ) 

£nd  a  violent  altercation  arofe  between  the  two  pat- 
'ties.  Camus  faid,  that  it  was  a  duty  he  muft  not  de- 
cline, to  report  the  general's  conduct,  to  the  convention. 
The  general  exhorted  him  to  do  fo,  and  (aid  that  he  had 
already,  himfelf  rendered  an  account  of  ,his  conduct. 
The  general  produced  his  letter  of  the  I2th,  which  be- 
came a  new  iubjcdl  of  contention. 

It  was  during  this  interview  that  Camus,  the  mod  iraf- 
•ciblc  of  mec,  laid  with  an  air,  partly  fmiling,  and  partly 
fcrious,General  you  are  acciifednfde/igmng  to  becomeQ&tdil 
and  I  defign  to  become  Brutus.  The  general  an  (wered,  Dear 
Camus,  neither  am  I  Caefar,  or  you  Brutus,  and  your 
threat  is  ihe  bejl  affurance  1  have  of  immortality. 

Thefe  commifiioners,  after  three  or  four  hours  conver- 
iatien  with  the  general,  departed  the  fame  night  for  Bruf- 
feU.  Camus  was  faithful  to  kis  promife.  He  drew  up 
his  report  to  the  Convention,  with  all  the  bitternefs  of  a 
perfidious  and  malignant  mind  ;  and,  thenceforth,  he  be- 
came the  decided  enemy  of  Dumourier. 

The  general,  on  his  part,  returned  to  the  confederation 
of  the  means  left  him  to  repair  the  faults  of  his  officers, 
and  to  reftore  vigour  to  an  army  that  no  longer  poffcffed 
the  fpirit  which  conducted  them  in  the  former  campaign. 


CHAP.    V. 


State  of  the  army.  Its  fofition.  Tim  General's  or-' 
ders  to  the  different  divijions.  He  refolves  to  give 
battle  to  the  enemy. 


THE  troops  appeared  to  refume  all  their  courage  at 
the  fight  of  their  general.  Joy  and  confidence  (hone  in 
the  eyes  of  the  foldiers.  They  embraced  the  general. 
They  called  him  their  father.  They  difcovered  ihame 
and  forrow  for  their  difgrace,  and  loudly  demanded  to  b£ 
led  againft  the  enemy. 

Dumourier  reproached  them  with  their  want  of  difcj- 
pline,  but  above  all  with  their  miftruil  of  generals,  who* 
till  this  fatal  difafter,  had  conducted  them  to  victory,  and 
who  were  hrsfcholars  and  companions.  He  reprefented 
,  that  their  impatience,  their  want  of  fubojdination, 

Bb   2 


and  the  fatal  confequdnces  of  thefe  in  their  retreat*,  had  . 
wrcfted  the  conqueu  of  Holland  from  his  hands,  and  per- 
haps had  determined  the  fafe  of  the  campaign.  They 
appeared  extremely  affected  by  their  dil grace,  and  dif- 
pofed  to  repair  their  faults,  on  condition  that  he  would 
net  abandon  them,  but  would  infhmtly  lead  them  to  re- 
cover their  honour. 

This  difpofition  greatly  aided  the  general  in  reftorirg 
order  to  the  army.  But  he  was  greatly  affifted  by  Gene- 
ral Thouvenot,  who,  with  every  ether  military  talent,  had 
that  alfo  of  conciliating  the  minds  of  the  foldiery,  and  in- 
filling order  into  all  the  parts  of  a  great  army.  With 
great  pleafure,  Dumourier  renders  this  teftimony  of  the 
merit  of  his  friend,  who  may  one  day  become  one  of  the 
beft  genfcrals  in  France,  if  he  mould  return  to  the  fer- 
vice  of  his  country,  and  prejudice  do  not  prevent  his  ri- 
fingto  the  command. 

The  army  amounted  to  near  forty  thoufand  infantry, 
nnd  near  live  thoufand  horfe  ;  and  this  was  exclufive  of 
the  garrifons  of  Belgium  :  of  a  divifton  of  5000  men  (800 
of  whom  were  horfe)  under  the  orders  of  General  la  Mar- 
liere  ;  the  divifion  of  Namur,  under  General  d'Harville, 
conf.ftingof  12,000  infantry,  and  1500  cavalry  ;  and  of 
the  corps  of  the  army  employed  in  the  expedition  againft 
Holland,  which  amounted  to  18,000  foot,  and  2,000  horfe, 
/  after  the  jun&ion  of  General  de  Flers. 

The  infantry,  confiding  of  fixty-tv.'o  battalions,  were 
formed  into  four  diviftons.  The  right  was  formed  by 
General  Valence  ;  the  centre  by  the  Duke  de  Chartres, 
who  at  that  period,  WHS  named  Egalite  ;  and  the  left  by 
General  Miranda.  Each  of  thefe  divifions  confifted  of 
eighteen  battalions,  and  crnou'fited  to  fcven  thoufand  men. 
The  refcrvc  confining  of  eight  battalions  of  grenadier.*, 
commanded  by  General  Chancel,  was  placed  under  the 
orders  of  the  Duke  dc  Chartres. 

Miranda  had  under  his  orders  General  Minc/infky, 
who  commanded  the  left  flank  of  the  army,  confiding  of 
two  thoufand  infantry,  and  one  thoufand  horfe  ;  and  Ge- 
neral Champmorin,  who  commanded  a  body  of  four  thou- 
fand foot  and  one  thoufand  horfe.  General  Valence  had 
under  his  orders  General  Dampierre,  who  commanded 
the  right  flank,  conuTtiug  of  an  equal  force  with  that  o£ 
General  Miaczinfky  ;  and  Generel  Ncuiily,  who  com- 
manded a  body  of  three  thoufand  foot  and  one  thoufand 
horfe. 

The 


nced  guard  was  compofed  cf  fix  tlioufand 
tnen,  fifteen  hundred  of  which  were  horfe,  commanded 
by  General  la  Marche.  He  was  an  old  officer,  who  had 
feen  a  great  deal  of  fervicc,  and  had  been  an  excellent 
colonel  of  HmTurs.  He  w  *s  forward  to  undertake  an  en- 
ferprife,  but  eafily  difcoura'ged.  He  was  aiTiiled  by  two 
excellent  officers,  although  they  were  very  young,  who 
conn  felled  him  with  great  fucceis,  when  he  would  differ 
himfelf  to  he  counfelled.  Thefe  were  Colonel Montjoye, 
who  wasadjutant-general,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Barois, 
who  commanded  the  horfe  aitillery.  But  the  ill-health 
of  this  old  general,  ajnd  ftill  more  his  want  of  capacity, 
rendered  hirn  very  dangerous. 

The  rapidity  with  which  in  this  war,  officers  role  to  the 
higheft  rank  in  the  army,  inverted  the  order  of  every 
thing.  The  corps  and  regiments  loft  officers  that  com- 
manded them  with  effect,  arid  the  army  acquired  inexpe- 
rienced generals.  Yet  the  army  was  really  in  want  of 
generals.  At  this  period  it  had  no  more  than  five  lieu- 
tenant-generals,  and  twelve  major-generals,  fix  of  which 
commanded  detached  corps  :  fo  that  h  e  were  but  fix  re- 
maining to  command  in  the  line. 

When  general  Dumourier  arrived  at  Louvain,  on  the 
morning  of  the  I3th,  he  found  that  the  three  divifionsof 
his  infantry  were  encamped  on  the  heights  behind  Lou- 
vain,  having  the  canal  of  JVIalines  in  front.  The  referve, 
with  a  fmall  body  of  horfe,  was  at  the  diftance  of  two 
leagues,  beyond  Bauterfem  ,*  and  the  advanced  guard  at 
more  than  two  leagues  beyond  the  referve,  at  Cumptich, 
having  a  fmall  force  of  four  hundred  men  in  Tirlemont. 

The  enemy  advanced  and  occupied  all  the  villages 
between  Tirlemont  and  Tongres.  The  defign  of  the 
enemy  was  to  turn  our  right  on  the  iGlh  ;  and  if  that 
had  been  executed  on  the  icth  or  J4th,  the  advanced 
guarc}  would  have  fallen  back  on  the  referve,  and  the 
referve  on  the  main  body,  and  the  whole  army  would 
have  been  defeated  and  difperled,  having  no  known 
point  at  which  to  rally. 

On  the  I4th  Dumourier  vifited  his  advanced  guard  ; 
and  he  infhntly  ordered  feveral  movements,  by  which 
the  pofition  of  his  army  was  mych  more  firm  and  fecurer 
He  placed  General  Dampierre,  with  the  troops  under  his 
command,  at  Hougaerde  to  the  right  of  Cumptich,  and 
ordered  General  Neuiliy  to  advance  from  Judoigne  to 


Lumm-en,  in  order  to  flrengthen  this  right  wtng  of  th# 
army,  and  to  extend  the  line  beyond  that  of  the  enemy. 
He  commanded  General  Miacziniky  to  take  a  pofition 
to  the  left,  between  Died:  and  Tirlemont,  on  the  fide  of 
Halen,  and  having  the  river  Gette  in  front  of  him*  He 
ordered  General  Champmorin  to  occupy  Died,  with  his 
divifion.  This  general,  having  informed  him  that  Died 
\vas  a  fmall  city  with  walls,  which  might  be  made  a 
ftrong  port,  Dumouriei"  ordered  him  to  add  as  much  as- 
poffiblc  to  its  ftrength,  and  to  leave  in  it  two  battalions 
and  fifty  horfe,  when  he  mould  receive  orders  to  march 
forward  with  his  troops. 

He  commanded  General  la  Mariiere  to  leave  a  fmali 
body  of  troops  at  Aerfchette,  in  order  to  keep  open  the 
communication  with  Dieit  ;  and  to  proceed  with  the  reft 
of  his  troops  to  Liers  to  overawe  the  country  of  Cam- 
pine,  to  check  the  Vruffian  column  who  might  advancer 
in  that  quarter,  and  to  cover  the  retreat  of  the  army  ©f 
Holland,  whom  Dumourier  concluded  had  abandoned 
the  project  of  paffing  to  Dort,  and  which  indeed  was  the 
cafe. 

He  fent  orders  to  General  de  Flers  to  throw  rnmfelf 
with  all  poffible  difpatch  into  Breda  ;  to  fend  Colonel 
Tilly  to  Gertruydenberg,  with  the  garrifons  named  in 
the  orders,  and  to  fend  back  the  remainder  of  that  army 
to  the  lines  of  Antwerp,  to  be  placed  under  the  orders 
of  General  MaraiTe.  Dumourier  ordered  Colonel  Wef- 
terrnann  to  take  poll:  at  Turnhout,  with  the  gendarmerie 
and  the  legion  of  the  north,  in  order  to  protect  this  re- 
treat, to  check  the  enemy  in  that  quarter,  and  to  keep 
open  the  communication  with  General  la  Mariiere,  and 
by  his  divifion,  with  the  grand  army. 

On  the  morning  of  the  15111  of  March,  the  advanced 
guard,  of  the  enemy  attacked  Tirlemont,  and  the  400 
men  who  were  polled  there  fell  back,  without  engaging 
but  with  a  lofs,  having  fufFered  thernfelves  to  be  fur- 
prifed.  General  Dampierre,  accuilomed  to  retreats, 
took  upon  him,  on  hearing  the  firing  at  a  diftance,  to 
abandon  his  pott  of  Hougaerdc,  where  he  guarded  one 
©f  the  pafTages  of  the  Gette,  and  fell  back  upon  Lou- 
vain,  at  the  fame  time  prdcring  General  Neuilly  to  re- 
tire on  his  fide  to  Judoigne.  Dumourier  had  not  time  to 
examine  whether  it  were  fear  or  treachery  which  caufed 
this  dangerous  movement  on  his  right.  Had  it  been 
known  to  the  enemy,  the  French  army  might  have  been 

overthrown 


overthrown.  Dumourier  contented  liimfelf  with  repair- 
ing this  fault,  which  was  io  much  the  more  weighty,  a's 
it  accuftomed  the  troops  to  give  way  on  the  firft  appear- 
ance of  danger  ;  and  on  the  lame  night  he  cauicd  thefe 
two  di/ifions  to' return  to  their  former  poits* 

It  was  very  fingular,  that  on  the  left  General  Miao 
zinfky  committed  the  fame  fault,  and  withdrew  into  the 
wood  near  Louvain,  and  was  not  to  be  found  for  two 
days.  But  the  pofition  he  had  quitted  was  occupied  by 
the  body  of  troops  under  General  Champmorin,  whom 
the  General  ordered  on  the  i^th  to  proceed  with  the 
greateft  difpateh  to  occupy  the  heights  of  Oplintcr,  on 
the  left  of  Tirlemont.  Champmorin  took  that  pofition 
on  the  evening  of  the  i6th. 

Fortunately  the  enemy,  who  had  fixed  the  i6th  for 
their  march,  discovered  nothing  of  the  retrograde  move- 
ments of  the  j 5th,  and  were  not  prepared  to  profit  by 
them.  On  the  fame  day,  the  General  advanced  with  the 
whole  of  his  army  beyond  Bauterfem  and  near  to  Cuinp- 
*ich,  to  prepare  for  his  revenge  on  the  following  day,  and 
not  to  leave  the  enemy  the  advantage  they  had  gained. 
It  was  abfolutely  neceflary  for  him  to  take  Tirlemont ; 
fince.,  otherwife,  he  mud  have  fallen  back,  and  again 
have  fubje&ed  his  troops  to  be  difcouraged  and  terrified. 

The  Imperialifts,  with  a  confiderable  advanced  guard, 
occupied  Tirlemont,  and  the  fpace  lying:  between  the 
two  Gettes,  from  the  caufeway  of  St.  Trcn,  to  thp 
ground  oppofite  the  pod  of  Hougacrde. 

On  the  morning  of  the  i6th,  the  General  made  a 
vigorous  a-ttack  upon  the  Imperialifts.  As  the  heights 
of  Oplinter  commanded  the  high  read  of  St.  Trcn, 
when  the  General  had  made  himfelf  mailer  of  Tirle- 
mont,  (which  he  gained  after  fome  refinance)  the  Im-» 
perialifts  finding  their  right  flanked  by  the  troops  under 
Miranda  on  the  heights  of  Oplinter,  made  a  precipitate 
march,  to  pafs  a  fmall  arm  of  the  Gette,  to  retire  to  thp 
heights  of  Neerlanden,  Nerwinde,.  Middlewinde  and 
Qberwinde. 

Between  the  two  Gettes,  at  a  league  and  a  half  on 
the  right  beyond  Tirlemont.,  was  a  village  n^med  Gotz- 
cnhoven,  which  Commanded  the  whole  plain.  It  flood 
on  a  fmall  hill  ;  having  hedges  along  the  front,  and 
pitches  filled  with  water  on  the  right  and  in  the  rear. 

The  Irnperialifls  did  not  appear  to"  perceive  the  import 
.tance  of  this  poft,  till  Dumourier  ha.d  f^nt  QeneraJ  la 


Mm  the,  with  his  advanced  guard,  fupported  with  cannon,- 
to  take  pofleffion  of  it.  At  that  time  the  Imperialists  were 
ilill  in  polTeffion  of  the  two  villages  of  Meer  and  Hatten- 
dover,  and  Dumoiuier  caufed  thele  to  be  attacked  by  his 
colufnns  as  quickly  as  they  could  form  after  filing  thro' 
Tirlemont.     The   Imperialifts  committed   a  great  error 
in  not  occupying  Gotzsnhoven  in  fufikient  force,  as  that 
poft  might  have  defended,  or   might  have  laid   in  aihes? 
the  two  villages  of  Meer  and  Hattendover.     The  Impe- 
riaiitls  collected  a  ftrong  body  of  infantry  and  hpife,  to 
endeavour  to  diilodgc   the  French  from  Gotzenhoven.— ?» 
They  performed  prodigies  of  valour  in  this  attack,  Al- 
though without    iuccefs.     '1  he   cuirailiers    charged    the 
French  infantry   with  the   greateft  intrepidity,  even  a- 
iiiGue;  the  very  hedges  of  the  village,  and  their  lofs  was 
very  great.     The  attack  was  recommenced  feveral  times. 
The  enemy  attempted  in  vain   to  turn  Gotzenhoven   on 
{he  right,  for  General  Neuiliy,  having  palled  the  gi  eater 
Gette  at  Dummen,   had  opportunely  arrived  in  this  quar- 
ter, with  his  divifion   to  take  the  pofition  of  Neerhelyf- 
fen.     The  engagement  did  not  finifn  till  four  o'clock  in 
the  afternoon,  when  the  Imperialifis  Were  in  full  retreat. 
It  lafted  at  leaft  eight  hours  between  the  advanced  guards 
of  the  Irnperialifts  and  the  French,  which  were  nearly 
of  equal  force,  and  were  both  of  them   fupported  by  the 
main  bodies  of  their  refpective  armies.      The  lofs  of  the 
Imperialifis  was  much  greater  than   that  of  the  French. 
The  advantage  remained  with  the   latter,  but  they  were 
pn  the  point  of  lonng  their  geperal  at  the  attack  of  GoU- 
pnhoven. 

Tiiis  engagement,  which  cofl  the  Impeiialiils  mere 
than  1 200  men,  entirely  reftored  the  courage  of  the 
French  trpops.  Dumouiier  formed  his  army  into  two 
divifions,  extending  from  Gotzenlioven  tq4he  highroad, 
among  the  villages,  which  had  been  the  field  of  battle.— 
General  Neuiliy,  fhtionect  near  Neerhelyflen  fupported 
?IiC  right.  General  Dampierre,  having  arrived  on  the 
evening  of  the  engagement,  was.ppfkd  at  Kfemael,  in 
front  of  the  centre.  General  Miac.zinfky  arriving  with 
his  cavalry  (his  infantry  confiding  of  eight  battalions 
being  left  near  Louvain,  was  pofied  at  the  bridge  of  the 
Jefier  Gette,  oppofite  to'Orfmael..  A  part  of  the  divi- 
iion  of  General  Miranda  remained  behind  the  grea& 
Gette,  to  the  left  of  Tirlemont,  extending  to  Oplinter  : 
:;«  v-hich  l-ift  p'ace  General  jfhanipmprin  arrive^  \vTth 
his  troops  duiing  the  night.  /ittcv 


After  this  firft  fuccefs,  Dumourier  faw  that  it  was  He- 
Ciliary  to  take  a  decifive  ftep.  Troops  were  continually 
on  their  march  to  reinforce  the  Imperialifts,  and  the 
French  army  had  very  inconiiderabio  or  no  reinforce- 
ments to  expect.  The  Imperial  cavalry  was  double  the 
number  of  that  of  the  French,  and  in  every  refpec~t 
greatly  fuperior.  It  was  impcffible  for  the  French  to 
coti'end  with  a  difciplined  army,  for  the  pofTeffion  of  the 
Netherlands,  foot  by  foot  ;  being  in  want  of  generals, 
incapab'e  of  executing  prompt  marches  of  bold  impor- 
tant manoeuvres,  in  face  of  a  numerous  and  experienced 
cavalry,  and  having  behind  them  no  ftrong  and  fortified 
places. 

There  xvas,  however*  a  neceflity  for  flopping  the 
progrefs  of  the  enemy,  which  could  not  be  done  without 
hazarding  a  battle.  Under  thefe  circumftances  found 
and  true  prudence  called  on  Dumourier  to  rifk  every 
thing,  before  the  Prince  of  Cobourg  ihould  have  received 
the  remainder  of  the  reinforcements  for  which  he  waited 
to  begin  the  campaign*  The  two  armies  were  of  equal 
force.  That  which  mould  attack  would  have  the  advan- 
tage in  fpirit  and  confidence,  which  always  belong  to  the 
party  beginning  the  attack.  This  advantage  had,  during 
fifteen  days,  been  in  the  hands  of  the  Prince  of  Co- 
bourg j  but  General  Dumourier  had  regained  it  by  the 
iffue  of  the  engagement  of  Tirlemont. 

If  General  Damourier  (hould  have  the  good  fortune  to 
£ain  a  decifive  battle  and  fuch  he  refolved  this  to  be,  his 
fituation  would  be  entirely  changed  :  for  firft,  it  would 
reftore  him  in  the  opinion  of  his  army  to  his  former  fape- 
riority,  and  would  intimidate  the  enemy  ;  fecondly,  it 
would  have  fecured  the  Belgians  in  his  intereft,  and 
would  have  greatly  forwarded  the  levies  of  twenty-five 
battalions  which  the  nation  had  undertaken,  and  fo 
would  have  ftrengthened  his  army  by  the  acquifition  of 
twenty  thoufand  infantry,  at  the  leaft  ;  thirdly,  lie  wouldf 
have  regained  the  ground  loft  on  the  fide  of  Liege,  for 
the  Auurians  would  not  have  been  able  to  have  held  that 
city,  nor  even  Aix-la-chapelle.  and  would  have  been 
compelled  to  have  intrenched  themfelves  under  the  protec- 
tion of  Maeftricht  ,*  and  lailly,  it  would  have  compelled 
the  Prince  of  Cobourg  to  have  repafTed  the  Meufe,  and 
would  have  fo  greatly  weakened  his  army,  as  to  prevent 
hi»  retaking  the  field  before  the  month  cf  May. 

Cc  General 


General  Dumouner's  clefign  was,  in  cafe  of  fuc<Teis> 
fo  have  formed  an  entrenched  camp,  in  a  ftrong  potition, 
between  the  two  Gettes,  under  the  command  of  General 
Valence,  who  in  that  fituation  might  have  watched  the 
enernv  ard  might  have  received  the  different  reinforce- 
ments arriving  from  France  and  Belgium  ;  while  Gene- 
ral d'Harville  might  have  been  equally  reinforced  on  the 
fide  of  Namur.  General  Valence  would  have  been 
mailer  of  the  country,  and  would  have  held  the  Prince 
of  Cobouig  in  check,  Miranda  would  have  been  polled 
with  an  army  at  Antwerp,  and  General  Dumourier  ad- 
vancing with  30,000  men,  againil  Bois-le-duc,  would 
have  relumed  his  project  againil  Holland,  and  would  a-t 
once  have  forced  the  paffages  of  the  Moor  Dyke,  and 
Gorcurn.  But  if  he  couid  not  have  penetrated  into  Hol- 
land, he  might  at  leaft  have  made  hinifelf  mailer  of 
Dutch  Flanders,  by  which  means  he  would  have  cover- 
ed his  left,  and  would  have  procured  arms,  clothing, 
money,  and  pro-vitions. 

In  that  cafe,  he  would  have  been  independent  of  the 
National  Convention,  and  probably  might  have  been 
able  to  give  it  lawr  for  the  repofe  of  his  unhappy  country, 
for  the  avenging  of  Lewis  XVI.  and  for  the  rc-eftablifh- 
ing  of  the  Co-nilitational  Monarchy. 

On  the  contrary,  ihould  the  general  be  defeated,  lie 
defigned,  in  the  iiift  place,  to  take  a  petition  behind  the 
canal  of  Louvain,  in  order  for  a  while  to  cover  Biuffels, 
a  ;d  to  reinforce  his  army  ;  fecondly,  to  maintain  the 
petition  of  Namurr  raiting  the  corps  of  General  d'Har- 
ville to  the  amount  of  25,000  men,  and  to  place  the 
clivition  of  General  Neuilly  at  Judoigne,  to  cover 
Dumourier's  retreat  by  the  foreft  of  Soignics,  for  the 
purpofe  of  fupporting  BruHels  ;  thirdly,  to  affemble  a 
body  of  25.000  men  near  Antwerp,  and,  Ail!  holding 
Breda  and  Gertruydenberg,  to  keep  the  communication 
open  to  theie  places  bv  means  of  the  polls  of  Lieis  and 
Dieft  ;  fourthly,  to  affemble  a  body  ef  14  or  i  ^,000  men 
on  the  fide  of  Bruges,  to  cover  Maritime  Flanders  ; 
tiftly,  to  negotiate  with  the  Imperialists  for  a  fufpenfion 
of  arms,  and  mean  while  to  endeavour  to  convince  tin 
troops  in  the  different  camps,  that  their  want  of  fubordi- 
nation,  together  with  the  difafters  refulting  from  it,  was 
one  erFecl  of  the  abfurd  government  of  the  convention, 
hat  it  was  high  time  to  put  an  end  to  the  anarchy  which 

would 


would  otherwife  caufe  the  entire  ruin  of  France,  and 
that  on  the  army  alone  retted  the  hopes  and  fate  of  the 
Country.  When  ,  the  minds  of  the  troops  fhould  have 
been  fufficiently  prepared,  his  next  defign  was  to  rein- 
force the  army  with  battalions  of  Belgians,  who  held  the 
Convention  and  Jacobins  in  abhorrence,  to  declare  open- 
ly in  favour  of  a  limited  Monarchy,  to  lay  hold  of  hofta- 
ges  for  the  fecurity  of  the  prifoners  in  the  Temple,  and 
to  march  to  Paris. 

Thefc  were  General  Dumourier's  objects  previous  to 
the  battle  of  Nerwinde,  and  it  will  be  feen  how  urgent 
his  motives  were  for  rifking  a  decifive  battle,  and  for 
tiling  every  effort  to  gain  the  vi&ory.  He  never  had 
the  bafeneis  to  wifh  to  be  beaten.  He  earneftly  ftrove  to 
mailer  events.  Although  he  held  the  Tyrants  of  France 
in  deteftation,  although  he  viewed  with  horror  the  cruel- 
ties that  difhonored  France,  he  was  not  the  iefs  folicitous 
•to  maintain  the  honor  of  his  country,  and  to  prove  him- 
felf  worthy  of  her  confidence.  In  every  cafe,  and  in 
every  moment  till  the  laft,  the  end  of  his  meafures  was 
to  prevent  a  foe  from  giving  law  to  France,  arid  to  fave 
his  country  from  infult  or  injury,  and  it  is  this  which 
has  drawn  upon  him  the  ill  founded  reproach,  from  rnif- 
informed  perfons,  and  in  particular  from  the  Elec^oiveff 
Cologne,  o-f  having  changed  his  party  only  when  he  was 
vanquifhed. 

Had  he  not  previous  to  the  lofs  of  the  battle  of  Ner- 
winde openly  declared  his  hoftility  to  the  Jacobins  by  his 
proclamations  at  Antwerp  and  Bruflels  V  Had  he  nor 
impriibned  or  driven  out  of  the  country  the  rapacious 
agents  of  the  Convention  ?  Had  he  not  written  his  letter 
of  the  1 2th  of  March  ?  Had  he  not  compelled  the  filver 
of  the  churches  to  be  reftorcd  V  Had  not  his  correfpond- 
•ence  with  Pache,  Bournonville  and  Le  Brun,  (which 
was  printed  and  which  appeared  alfo  in  the  Monitors  of 
March  and  April)  declared  the  firmed  truths  and  the 
freeft  opinions  ,  refpeiting  the  authors  of  the  miferies  of 
France.  If  in  thofe  he  did  not  fpeak  of  the  royal  family, 
it  was  that  he  feared  his  mention  ot  them  would  become 
a  fignal  for  their  death. 

He  who  reads  thefe  Memoirs,  antl  calls  to  remem- 
brance the  circ.unflances  and  the  public  documents  of 
thofe  times,  will  fee  that  the  opinions  of  General  Du- 
mourier  have  been  confiftent.  He  has  been  the  zealous 
defender  of  his  country.  Her  enemies  have  been  his 
C  c  2  enemies. 


nviesj  but  the  war  he  has  made  upon  them  has  been 
open  and  generous  ;  for  his  love  of  his  country  was  nei- 
ther fanatical,  unjuft,  nor  favage.  The  Emigrants,  by 
whom  he  is  detefted  as  greatly  as  by  the  Jacobins,  have, 
on  all  occafions,  found  him  humane  and  liberal.  In  a 
war,  differing  from  all  others  in  character,  a  war  of 
opinion,  in  which  infLbility  of  principles  and  conduct 
might  find  excufe,  he  has  no  Ihifting  of  opinion  where- 
with to  reproach  himfelf,  no  perfidy,  no  cruelty,  no  in-» 
folence  in  fuccefs,  nor  weaknefs  in  misfortune  and  dif- 
grace.  In  a  word,  moved  only  by  humanity,  he  re- 
flared  the  Netherlands  to  the  Emperor,  as  was  acknow- 
ledged by  the  Archduke  Charles,  by  the  Emperor's  3VII- 
nifters  and  Generals,  by  his  army,  and  by  the  people 
of  the  country.  Nor  did  he  make  conditions  or  icierves 
for  himfelf.  He  did  not  di-marid  an  afylum  in  the  Fm- 
peror's  dominions.  He  demanded  nothing  of  the  Prince 
of  Cobourg  but  his  marching  to  Paris,  with  the  object, 
and  in  the  hope,  of  delivering  his  country. 

Bafely  mifreprefentcd  to  the  emperor,  denied  a  place 
of  fafety  in  the  Emperor's  dominions,  which  ought  to 
have  been  free  to  him,  though  all  others  had  been  fhut 
sgainft  him,  he  expects  juftice  from  time,  which  unveils 
the  truth  ,*  and  confoles  himfelf  in  faying  with  Valerius 

Maximus, -Perfecla   ars,  Joriunae  Icnocinio  defefla^ 

fiducia  jiifta  non  exuiler,  quamque  fc.ii  fe  laudem  meteri, 
'tarn  ft/i  ab  alns.  non  impdrat,  domeftico  t$mcn 


C  II  A  P.     VI, 

Battle  of  Nerwindt. 

THE  Prince  of  Cobourg  advanced  between  Tori- 
gres,  St.  Tron,  and  Landen  ;  and  the  two  armies  were 
in  fight  of  each  other.  General  Dumourier  pa  fled  the 
day  of  the  i^th  in  reconnoitring  the  pofition  of  the  ene- 
my, in  forming  his  troops  in  order  of  battle,  and  in  pre- 
paring his  plan  of  attack.  lie  had,  in  his  front,  the 
J^efTer  Gette,  which  rifes  in  the  townfhip  of  Jaudrain, 
and  runs  almoll  parallel  with  the  greater  Gette,  into 

which 


(     '93    ) 

which  it  falls  below  Leaw.  This  river  ran  between  the 
two  armies.  Both  fides  of  the  river  were  extremely  hil- 
ly ;  and  the  ground,  on  the  fide  occupied  by  the  Irrpe- 
/ialills,  formed  an  amphitheatre  rifirig  from  the  liver  to 
the  more  elevated  fituations  of  Landen  and  St.  Tron. 

Dumouricr  judged  that  the  pofition   of  the  Prince   of 
Cobourg  was  by  much  the  ftrongeft  on  the  fide  i-i  Ton- 
gres  and  St.  Tron;  becaufe  of  the  neceility  of  his  draw- 
ing his  provifions  from   Maeitricht  and  I  : 
confequentiy  his  left,  which  was  co:i!n" 

on  the  fide  of  •  "Landen,  mull  be  me:        --         

liable  to  be  turned,  or  broken. 

Dumourier  knew  alfo,  tl          <.  Prtnceof  C 
neglected  to  occupy   the  i'.L^c  city  of  J  aa\v 
a  very  important  poft,  and  which   mu.Ui  eitbei  s  a 

centre  to  the  motions  of  the  army  making  t;,e  aUac  ,?  or 
a   point  of  refiftance   for  the   army   that  mould    be   ;/ 
tacked. 

In  the  front  of  that  part  of  the  enemy's  line,  which 
extended  from  Landen  towards  Leaw,  were  the  three 
villages  of  Oberwinde,  Middlewinde,  and  Nerwinde. — 
Near  Middlewinde  was  an  eminence,  called  the  Tomb 
of  Middlewinde,  which  commanded  the  three  villages, 
and  a  valley  which  feparates  them  from  the  city  of  Lan- 
den. He,  therefore,  who  fhould  occupy  this  place, 
mud  be  mafter  of  all  the  plain,  and  muil  neceffarily,  in 
cafe  of  an  attack,  repulfe  his  enemy. 

On  thefe  fads,  Dumourier  laid  down  his  plan  for  the, 
battle,  which  was  as  follows  :  The  firft  column,  forrn~ 
ing  the  right  flank  of  the  army,  compofed  of  the  advanced 
guard,  under  General  la  Marche,  proceeding  by  the 
bridge  of  Neerhellyilen,  was  to  enter  the  plain 
between  Landen  and  Oberwinde  ;  and  to  extend  itielf 
beyond  the  left  of  the  enemy,  in  order  to  harrafs  that 
flank.  The  fecond  column,  conipofed  of  the  infantry  of 
the  army  of  the  Ardennes,  commanded  by  Lieutenant- 
general  le  Veneur,  and  fupported  by  a  ftrong  body  of 
cavalry,  entering  the  plain  by  the  fame  bridge,  was  to 
gain  the  Tomb  of  Middlewinde  by  a  rapid  movement, and 
to  attack  the  village  of  Obenvinde,  which  could  not 
withiland  a  di (charge  of  12  pounders  that  were  to  be 
planted  on  the  Tomb.  And  while  this  attack  Ihould  take 
place,  the  third  column  under  the  command  of  General 
Netiilly,  entering  the  plain  alfo  by  the  fame  bridg,  waes 
to  fail  on  the  right  of  the  village  of  Nerwinde. 

Thefc 


(    '94    ) 

Thcfe  three  columns  formed  the  right  Wing  of  the 
srmy,  commanded  by  General  Valence,  who,  in  cai'd 
of  fuccefs,  wheeling  to  the  left,  and  driving  the  left 
wing  of  the  enemy  before  him,  was  to  continue  his 
march  in  order  of  battle,  leaving  Landen  behind  him,  and 
having  his  front  facing  St.  Tron. 

The  centre,  commanded  by  the  Duke  de  Chartres, 
was  compofed  of  two  columns.  The  firfr,  (which  was 
the  fourth  column  in  the  order  of  attack)  commanded 
by  lieutenant-general  Dietman,  palling  the  river  by  the 
bridge  of  Laer,  and  rapidly  croffing  the  village  of  the 
fame  name,  which  was  only  occupied  by  a  few  indiffe- 
rent troops  belonging  to  the  1  m per ia lifts,  was  to  prefs 
forward,  and  fall  directly  upon  the  front  of  the  village 
of  Nerwinde.  The  fifth  column,  commanded  by  Gen. 
Dampierre,  was  to  pafs  by  the  bridge  of  Efemael,  and 
to  attack  the  left  of  Nerwinde.  Thefe  two  columns 
were  afterward  to  follow  the  right  wing,  forming  a  dia- 
gonal line  with  the  point  of  their  departure. 

The  left  wing,  under  the  command  of  General  Mi- 
randa, was  compofed  of  three  columns.  The  firfr  (be- 
ing the  fixth  in  the  order  of  attack)  under  General  Mi- 
aczinfky,  pafling  the  river  at  Over-helpen,  was  to  charge 
ftraight  forward  proceeding  toward  Neerlanden,  but  be- 
ing careful  never  to  prefs  beyond  the  head  of  the  fifth 
column.  The  feventh  column,  under  General  Rualt, 
was  to  pafs  the  river  at  the  bridge  of  Orfmael,  and  en- 
fl^ge  the  enemy  by  the  high  road  of  St.  Tron.  The 
eighth  column,  under  Gen.Champmorin,  was  to  pafs  the 
river  below  Neerlinter,  at  the  bridge  of  Bingen,  and  to 
throw  itfelf  into  the  Leaw,  which  it  was  to  occupy  till 
the  end  of  the  battle. 

In  cafe  of  complete  fuccefs,  the  army  at  the  end  of 
the  action  would  be  rarrged  in  order  of  battle,  with  the 
left  wing  at  Leaw,  and  the  right  at  St.  Tron,  and  having 
its  front  toward  Tongres  :  which  was  the  only  point  by 
which  the  Imperialisms  could  retreat;  And  batteries  were 
erected  on  the  banks  of  the  Gette,  within  reach  of  the 
bridges,  to  protect  the  retreat  of  the  columns,  in  cafe  of 
their  being  repulfed. 

On  the  morning  of  the  i8th  of  March,  between  feven 
and  eight  o'clock,  the  feveral  columns  began  to  move  in 
the  fame  inftant,  in  great  order,  and  pa  (Ted  the  river 
without  cbfhcle.  General  la  Marche  committed  the  firft 
rrror  of  that  day.  He  entered  the  plain  of  Landen  ac- 
cording 


r  195  ) 

Cording  to  his  inftruclions,  but  finding  no  enemy  there, 
he  made  a  movement  to  the  left,  to  tali  upon  the  village 
of  Ooerwinde,  and  thence  was  thrown  into  confufion  by 
the  fecond  column.  Although  the  troops  of  the  fecond 
column  were  retarded  in  their  march  by  their  artillery, 
yet  they  attacked  the  village  of  Oberwinde,  and  the 
Tomb  of  Midldewinde,  with  fuch  vigourv  that  by  ten 

o'clock  they  had  carried  thole  ports. But  General 

Je  Veneur  did  not  take  iuiiicient  precautions  to 

ftrengthon  himfelf  in  the  latter  poll. 1*,  was  ibcn 

after  re-taken  by  the  Auilrians,  and  the  poiTeffion  of  it 
difputed  the  whole  day.  General  Neuiily  brilkly  en- 
tered Nerwinde  with  the  third  column,  and  drov*  out  the 
Imperialifts  ;  but,  almoft  immediately  abandoning  the 
village,  he  advanced  into  the  plain  toward  the 
iecoud  column.  General  Neuiily  alTerted,  that  he  re- 
ceived an  order  to  that  effect  fiom  General  Valence,  who 
on  his  hde  declared,  it  was  a  mifunderftanding  of  Gen. 
Neuiily. 

In  a  fhort  time,  the  Imperialifts  re-entered  Nerwinde; 
from  which  they  were  again  driven,  by  the  fourth  and 
iifth  columns,  under  the  command  of  the  Duke  de  Char- 
tres.  In  this  attack  General  Desforets,  an  excellent  of- 
ficer, received  a  wound  in  the  head  with  a  mufquet-bali. 
This  part  ot  the  army  fell  into  confufion.  The  infantry 
crowded  in  too  great  numbers  into  the  village,  and  were 
in  fuch  complete  disorder,  that  on  the  appearance  of  a 
fecond  attack  from  the  enemy  they  abandoned  the  place. 

General  Dumourier  arriving  in  this  moment,  caufefl 
the  village  to  be  once  move  attacked.  It  was  again  car- 
ried ;  but  the  troops  prefently  quitted  the  village  again, 
and  all  the  efforts  of  Gen.  Dnrnourier  prevailed  no  fttf- 
ther  than  to  rally  them  at  a  hundred  paces  from  Nerwinde, 
which  was  filled  with  the  d-ead  and  wounded  cf  the  two 
parties.  But  the  Imperialitls  did  not  re-enter  the  vil- 
lage until  the  eveuiu^. 

It  was  during  the  diibrder  in  this  quarter,  that  the  Im- 
perial cavalry  rufhing  into  the  plain  between  Nerwinde, 
and  Middlewiude,  charged  the  French  cavalry  ;  at  the 
head  of  which  was  General  Valence,  who  fought  with 
great  intrepidity,  was  wounded,  and  obliged  to  retire 
from  the  field  of  battle  to  Tirlemont.  The  Imperial 
horfe  were,  however,  repulfed  with  great  {laughter. 

While  the  horfe  were  thus  engaged,  another  body  of 
•cavalry  entered  the  plain  on  the  left  of  Nerwinde,  ;;qd 

threw 


(     '96    ) 

threw  thernfelves  with  great  fury  r.pon  the  infantry  of  the" 
fourth  column.  General  Thouvenot,  who  was  at  the 
head  of  that  column,  opened  his  /anks  to  the  Imperial 
horie,  and  immediately  cauied  the  regiment  of  Deux- 
ponts  to  make  fo  timely  and  \veli-clirccted  a  discharge  of 
grape-fhot  and  muiquetrv  upon  that  body  cf  horie,  that 
almoft  the  whole  of  it  was  defiroyed. 

From  that  inilant,  the  fate  of  the  battle  feemed  deter- 
mined in  favour  of  the  French,  on  their  il^ht  and  in 
the  centre*  The  troops  were  again  in  perfect  order, 
were  full  of  confidence  and  courage,  and  pa  fled  the  night 
on  the  field  of  battle,  preparing  to  complete  their  victory 
the  following  morning.  The  irnperiaiiits  have  acknow- 
ledged that  they  were  on  the  point  of  retreating,  and  that 
orders  had  been  actually  given  to  their  baggage  to  retire 
to  Torigres* 

But  it  was  quite  cthettvife  with  the  French  troops  on 
the  left.  The  fixth  and  leventh  columns  had  attacked 
the  enemy  with  great  vigour  ;  but,  when  they  were  al- 
ready matters  of  Orfmacl,  a  panic  feized  upon  the  batta- 
lions of  Volunteers,  ar,d  they  fled,  leaving  the  tioops  of 
the  line  expofed.  The  Imperialifts>  feeing  the  diforder, 
charged  the  two  columns  with  their  horie,  which  put  it 
entirely  to  the  rout.  Guifcard,  Major-general  of  the 
artillery,  was  killed,  as  well  as  great  numbers  of  the 
Aids-dc-camp  and  officers  of  the  ftafF;  and  General 
Kuault  and  General  Ihlerwere  wounded. 

Still,  however,  great  opportunity  remained  of  reftor- 
in£  the  fortune  of  the  day  in  that  quarter.  It  was  not 
more'than  t\vo  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  when  the  co- 
lumns ('led.  They  repaiTed  the  bridge  of  Orfmacl,  and 
were  not  purfucd  further  by  the  Imperial ifts.  At  that 
moment,  General  Miranda  was  informed,  that  the  eight 
battalions  of  Miaczinfliy's  corps  v.  ere  arrived  at  Tirle^ 
tnont.  Thefe  troops  were  quite  freih,  and  General  Mi- 
randa might  have  reinforced  himfeif,  by  placing  them  on 
the  heights  of  Wommerfem,  on  the  fide  of  the  Gette  next 
Tirlemont.  But  General  Miranda,  eitlier  being  difcon- 
ccrted,  or,  which  is  more  probable,  feeing  the  iucccfs  of 
the  right  wing,  commanded  by  his  rival  General  Va- 
lence, he  yielded  to  his  rcfentmcnt,  and  refolving  to  fa- 
crifice  him,  ordered  his  troops  to  retreat  ;  and  retired  be- 
hind Tiriemont,  at  more  than  two  leagues  diftam:e  from 
the  field  of  battle.  Whatever  be  the  cafe,  his  conduct 
was  perfidious  in  fending  no  advice  of.  his  retreat  to  Ge- 
neral 


Trerai  Dntr curler,  which  expofed  the  riglit  and  centre  of 
the  army  to  the  whole  weight  of  the  enemy.  But  the 
enemy  did  not  avail  themleives  of  this  cowardly  retreat  ; 
either  to  cut  o(f  the  left  wing,  which  they  might  have 
compleatly  done  by  continuing  the  purfuit  to  Tirlemonf, 
or  to  renew  the  attack  upon  the  centre  and  the  right, 
whole  flank  was  entirely  expofed  to  them. 

Genera!  Champmorin,  who  had  made  himfelf  mjfler  of 
Lcavv,  and  had  remained  in  that  pofition,  till  he  faw  the 
retreat  of  General  Miranda,  did  not  abandon  it  till  Jate  in 
the  day,  when  he  repafled  the  river  by  the  bridge  of  Bin- 
gen,  which  he  cut  down  after  him,  and  returned  to  his 
former  pofition  of  Oplinter.  And,  perhaps,  it  was  owing 
to  the  pofleffion  of  this  ppft  at  Leaw,  that  the  Imperialifts 
did  noi  purfue  theii  advantage  againft  the  left  wing  of  the 
French,  on  the  retreat  of  Miranda  ;  fince,  in  that  cafe, 
General  Champmorin  might  have  taken  their  right  in 
flank. 

General  Dumourier  patted  the  whole  time  of  action  in 
regarding  the  movements  of  his  centre  and  right  wing,  in 
re-eftabiifhing  order  in  the  different  parts  that  gave  way, 
and  enfuring  luccefs  in  that  quarter,  which  was  the  more 
elVential,  as  it  was  charged  with  the  whole  weight  of  the 
manoeuvres.     At  two  in  the  afternoon,  he  obferved  that 
the  firing  on  his  left,  which  till  then  had  been  very  brifk, 
had  ceafed  ;   but  he   attributed  this  filence  to  fuccefs. — 
The  nature  of  the  ground  prevented   his  feeing  the  fixth 
and  feventh  columns  ;   and,  during  the  firing  of  thefe  co- 
lumns,  he  could   perceive  they  were  advancing  forward. 
He  had,  therefore,  reafon  to  fuppofc  that,  the  enemy,  be- 
ing driven  in  that   quarter,  had  halted,  that   they   might 
not  over-run  the  head  of  the  columns  on  their  right.     But 
no  circumftances  could  lead  him  to  conjecture  the  incredi- 
ble   retreat  of   General  Miranda  :  and  he  was,  perhaps, 
happy  in  being  ignorant  of  it,  while  he  was  repairing  the 
disorders  of  his  right  and  centre. 

Towards  the  clofe  of  the  day,  he  obferved,  that  feveral 
columns  of  the  Imperialifts  moved  from  their  right  to  re- 
inforce their  left,  which  led  him  to  lufpeft.  the  truth  ;  but, 
it  was  as  yet  only  fufpicion,  having  received  no  meflage 
from  General  Miranda.  In  this  iituation,  he  pafled  the 
greater  part  of  the  evening  before  the  village  of  Nerwinde. 
At  length,  his  fufpicions,  which  he  had  communicated  to 
no  other  perfon  than  General  Thouvenot,  were  fucceeded 

by 
Dd 


{     193    ) 

by  the  livelleft  inquietude.  He  departed  for  his  Icft^  ac- 
companied by  General  Thouvenot,  two  aids-de-camp, 
and  two  domeflics.  Arriving  at  the  village  of  Laer,  at 
ten  at  night,  he  was  utterly  aftoniihed  to  find  that  it  had 
been  abanded  by  order  of  General  Dampierre,  who  after 
conducting  himielf  with  great  valour  during  trie  engage- 
ment, had  in  the  clofe  of  the  evening  without  orders  re- 
paiTcd  the  Gette  with  his  divifion,  and  retired  to  his  for- 
mer pofition  at  the  village  of  Efemael. 

General  Dumourier,  continuing  his  route,  arrived  near 
the  bridge  of  Oriinael,  which  he  fuppoled  to  be  occupied 
by  Miranda's  troops,  but  found  it  was  in  the  poffeiiion  of 
th-  Auftrian  Hulans,  by  whom  he  was  on  the  point  ot 
being  taken.  He  turned  back  ;  and  proceeded,  by  the 
high  road  of  Tongrcs,  and  Tirlemont  :  aftonifhed  with 
the  filence  and  folitude  that  reigned  around  him,  till  he 
arrived  within  half  a  league  of  that  city.  He  then  learnt 
from  three  or  four  battalions,  that  were  fcattered  in  diior- 
der,  without  cavalry,  along  the  fide  of  the  highroad,  the 
difafter  and  difgrace  of  his  left  wing. 

In  Tirlemont,  he  found  General  Miranda  writing  to  his 
friends  with  great  compoiure.  General  Valence  had  al- 
ready ufed  every  effort  to  induce  Miranda  to  return  to  the 
attack,  alluring  him  that  the  French  were  victorious  on 
their  right,  and  in  the  centre  ;  and  that,  by  his  return, 
fucccfs  would  be  altogether  infured.  General  Dumourier 
commanded  him,  in  very  feverc  terms,  to  affemble  his 
troops  immediately,  even  during  the  night,  and  to  poft 
them  on  the  heights  of  Wommerfem,  on  the  high  road, 
and  on  the  bridge  of  Orfmael,  as  well  as  that  of  Neer- 
helpen,  for  the  purpofe  of,  at  leaft,  fecuring  the  paflage  of 
the  Gette,  and  the  retreat  of  the  right  and  centre,  now 
in  the  midft:  of  the  enemy's  army,  with  a  river  behind 
them. 

Such  was  the  fate  of  the  battle  of  Nerwinde  ;  which  had 
been  entirely  fuccefsfal  on  the  part  of  the  French,  if  Ge- 
neral Miranda,  inftead  of  retreating,  on  perceiving  the 
firft  diforder  in  his  two  columns,  had  lined  the  Gette  with 
his  troops,  and  had  maintained  the  two  bridges  of  Orf- 
mael and  Neerhelpcn.  This  retreat  was  the  more  unfor- 
tunate, as  the  two  columns  loft  abovp  two  thoufand  men, 
while  the  reft  of  the  army  did  not  lofe  more  than  fix 
hundred  men.  The  French  had  about  three  thoufand 
killed  or  taken,  and  more  than  a  thoufand  wounded,  and 
loft  great  part  of  their  cannon. 

In 


(     199    ) 

In  this  engagement  faults  were  committed  on  both  fides. 
The  French  did  not  attack  the  town  of  Middlewinde, 
which  was  the  decifive  point  of  the  adtion,  with  fufficient 
vigour,  and  afterward  abandoned  that  port  without  any  vi~ 
fible  neceflity.  General  Neuilly,  after  the  tirft  fucccfs, 
put  every  thing  to  hazard,  by  abandoning  the  village  of 
Nerwinde,  on  an  uncertain  order.  Miranda,  having  al- 
ready made  himfelf  matter  of  the  village  of  Orfmael,  turn- 
ed the  fate  of  the  day,  by  yielding  to  the  terror  of  his 
troops,  and  commanding  a  retreat  that  became  an  abfolute 
flight. 

The  Imperialifts  committed  feveral  errors  :  in  not'dii- 
puting  the  paffage  of  the  Gette  ;  in  not  falling  upon  the 
three  columns  of  the  right, bothin  front  and  in  flank,  while 
they  xvere  marching  forward  to  the  attack,  and  were  ex- 
pofed  to  the  fire  of  the  villages  of  Laer,  of  Nerwinde,  Mid- 
dlewinde, and  Oberwinde  ;  in  abandoning  the  elevated 
and  advantageous  poll  of  the  tomb  of  Middlewinde,  and 
in  not  creeling  a  battery  on  it  previous  to  the  engage- 
ment ;  in  neglecting  to  occupy  Le.tw,  on  their  right  ; 
and,  finally,  in  not  having  availed  themfclves  of  Miran- 
da's retreat,  either  in  falling  upon  his  troops,  or  attacking 
the  left  flank  of  the  columns  belonging  to  the  centre  of 
the  French  army,  that  were  in  the  heat  of  the  a&ion  be- 
fore Nerwinde,  by  the  whole  of  their  right  wing  which 
po  longer  had  an  enemy  in  front  of  theirs. 


C    H     A     P.        VII, 

Retreat  of  the  iqth  of  March.     Action  of  Gotzcnkovw. 

GENERAL  DUMOURIER  now  faw  the  neceffity  of 
fecuring  his  retreat.  The  pott  ofLeavv,  on  which  the 
poilefFion  of  the  field  of  battle  depended,  was  abandoned 
by  his  troops  ;  and,  in  the  difrnay  which  had  icized  upon 
the  other  two  columns  of  his  left  wing,  the  mofl  he  could 
hope  was  to  lead  them  back  to  the  banks  of  the  Letter  Gerte; 
to  induce  them  to  pals  the  river,  and  to  return  to  the  ficlcj 
of  battle,  was  impoffible.  Thefe  two  columns  had  loft 
part  pf  .tlieir  cannon  in  the  flight  ;  the  Generals,  and  fu- 

rciior 


(       200       ) 

pcrior  officers  of  thefe  troops,  \vcre  in  no  condition  to 
undergo  a  frcfh  combat  ;  and,  independent  of  the  real  loi's 
of  i hole  columns  by  the  fword  of  the  enemy,  more  than 
6000  men  had  deferted,  and  were  on  the  road  to  Brufieis 
and  France. 

Dumouricr  palled  the  remainder  of  the  night  in  giving 
orders  for  the  retreat  of  his  centre,  and  right  wing,  which 
was  then  commanded  by  the  Duke  tie  Chartres,  who  con- 
ducted himfelf  with  coolncfs,  courage,  and  judgment. 

The  Imperialists  had  in  truth  gained  a  great  victory ,  but 
they  were  not  certain  of  their  fituation.  They  had  been 
'o  difconcerted  with  the  important  advantages  gained  by 
t'lc  right  and  centre  of  the  French  army,  that  they  made  no 
attempt  to  purfue.  their  advantage  over  the  left.  They 
ft\v  the  French  full  in  order  of  battle  and  ready  to  recom- 
mence the  atlion,  and  they  really  imagined  that  the  left 
•wing  of  the  French  was  about  to  return  to  its  former  po- 
fition.  Hence  they  threw  no  more  obftacleson  the  French 
in  their  retreat,  than  the  day  before  on  their  advancing  to 
the  attack. 

This  retreat  was  effected  in  open  day-light,  the  columns 
repufTing  the  river  in  the  order  in  which  they  advanced, 
and  altogether  with  the  fame  ileadinefs.  Dumourier  lent 
General  Thouvenot  to  the  right,  to  receive  the  columns, 
and  place  them  in  the  order  of  battle  from  Gotzhenhoven 
to  Hcickendower,  while  he  took  upon  himfelf  to  aill-mhle 
thecolumns  of  the  left  wing, and  to  pott  them  on  the  heights 
of  Wommerfcm,  and  at  the  bridge  of  Orlrnael.  The 
enemy's  troops  were  already  mailer  of  this  bridge  ;  and 
Dumourier,  to  prevent  their  advancing  further  on  the 
cauieway,  lent  orders  to  General  Dampiene,  polled  at 
FJemad,  to  make  a  movement  to  the  left  with  half  of  his 
divifion,  for  the  purpo.fe  of  flanking  the  caufeway,  and  to 
maintain  that  pofition  till  the  centre  Ihould  have  repaiTed 
the  river,  and  thc<i  to  retreat  llowly  to  the  new  pofition 
th-it  the'.- -,jops  were  taking,with  their  rightatGotzenhoven, 
their  u-ff  at  Hackendower,  u,,'d  having  the  Letter  Gette 
in  their  front. 

'Piisordcr, completely  executed  by  General  Dampierrc, 
prviV;;  v,.fj  the  rn-iiiy  from  (Miriiciion  ;  fur  the  two  columns 
that  hail  Hed  h;.id  acquired  inch  apathy  fiom  the  uiarneof 
th"  pr-"Ci':iiii«r  dav.  and  were  ib  icattcrrd,  that  it  was  ten 
in  Jiie  mornir.g  before  Durnourier  could  form  them,  ib  a% 
to  i-  \:\h  with  good  order  to  take  poA  at  Hackenduwer, 
oa  the  r:ght  and  left  of  the  high  road. 


The  firft  column  of  the  Impsrial  army  had  pa  fled  the 
bridge  ofOrfmael,  and  had  already  formed  with  its  artil- 
lery" in  the  heights  of  Wommerfem.  But  Durnourier 
could  never  prevail  on  his  troops  to  attack  that  poll,  which 
commanded  the  ground  on  which  they  had  formed,  altho* 
they  were  extremelv  harraffed  by  the  artillery  on  thofe 
heights,  and  fuftained  this  inceflant  firinj  with  unfhaken 

conftancy. 

On  this  occafion  Dumourier  had  nearV  fallen.  His 
horfe  was  killed  under  him  by  a  cannon  ball.  The  rea- 
diijefs  with  which  he  recovered  from  this  fituation  was  the 
means  »of  preventing  new  diforder,  and  probably  a  fecond 
flight  which  this  circumftance  was  on  the  point  of  occa- 
fion ing. 

The  troops,  which  in  the  action  of  the  preceding  day, 
had  fled  with  fuch  precipitation,  now  endured  the  terrible 
difcharge  of  the  Imperiaiifts,  with  great  intrepidity.  But 
in  this  conduct  General  Dumourier  perceived  nothing 
more  than  a  blind  obftinacy,  altogether  deftitute  of  the 
daring  courage  that  he  urifhed  to  excite  in  them.  He  ex- 
horted them  to  charge  with  bayonets  the  enemy  on  the 
heights  of  Wommerfem,  and  feveral  times  he  put  himfelf 
at  their  head,  without  being  able  to  make  them  advance  ; 
too  happy,  indeed  in  feeing  them  continue  firm  in  their 
pofition,  which  was  imminently  more  dangerous  than  a 
vigorous  attack  on  thofe  troops,  who,  being  feparated 
from  the  reft  of  the  Imperial  army,  and  having  the  river 
in  their  rear,  might  have  been  totally  overthrown. 

The  left  wing  of  the  Imperialiils  betrayed  the  lame  dif- 
pofition, occasioned  by  the  fame  cauie,as  that of  the  French. 
Thefe  troops  iufi'ered  the  right  and  centre  of  the  French 
to  re  pa  fs  the  river  without  moleftation,  and  even  to  range 
(hemfelvcs  in  order  of  battle  in  thepofnion  of  Gotzrnhoven, 
before  they  could  refolve  to  pafs  the  river  in  order  to  at- 
tack them.  Thus,  the  whole  day  pa  (Ted  on  both  fides  in 
manoeuvring,  with  the  exception  of  iome  canormading  and' 
difcharge  of  mufquets.  The  two  armirs  relied  on  their 
arms,  in  order  of  battle,  the  whole  ni^ht,  very  near  to 
each  other. 

This  cool  and  fteady  retreat  was  the  more  admired  by 
the  I  in  pe  rial  ills,  becaufe  the  troops  did  not  fall  back  more 
than  three  quarters  of  a  league,  and  fccined  oniv  to  be  re- 
turning in  great  order  to  the  ground  they  occupied  before 
the  battle.  During  the  evening  of  the  Jylh,  however,  Ge- 
neral Dumourier  perceived  by  ihenpai'iv  which  pervaded 
hi.?  troops,  that,  mould  he  make  a  fhnd  the  next  morning 
agamft  the  enemy,  he  would  be  infallibiv  beaten. 


There  has  been  no  period  when  the  French  foldiery 
could  be  conducted  fucceisfully  without  great  regard  being 
paid  to  their  temper  and  their  feelings ;  and  the  importance- 
of  this  circumftance,  in  conducting  them  to  battle,  has 
been  eminently  heightened  by  the  revolution, \vhich,  hav- 
ing entirely  deftroyed  military  difcipline,  has  increafcd 
the  force  of  the  intractable  and  capricious  fpirit  belong- 
ing to  the  national  character.  The  active  and  impetuous 
tiiipoiuion  of  the  French  is  calculated  to  carry  them  for- 
ward to  conqueft,  and  not  to  preferve  conquers.  A  de- 
fenfive  and  methodical  war  does  not  diminim  their  bra- 
very, but  it  wearies  and  contradicts  their  impatient  fpirit. 
When  once  wearied  and  difpirited,  the  French  troops  bo 
ing  no  longer  retrained  by  the  feverity  of  military  laws, 
abandon  their  leaders  and  their  colours,  and  defert  with- 
out the  leaft  thought  of  the  consequences. 

The  troops  of  the  line,  (till  influenced  by  a  remnant  of 
their  former  military  fpirit,  an  attachment  to  their  colours, 
and  the  fear  pfdifgrace,  continued  firm,  and  were  yet  to 
be  relied  on  by  the  General  ;  but  the  national-guards, 
compofing  three-fourthsof  the  army,  declaring  loudly  that 
it  was  fruitlefs  to  lavifh  their  lives  in  Belgium,  and  that 
they  oiFght  to  return  and  defend  their  own  frontiers,  de- 
parted by  whole  companies  and  battalions.  To  have  at- 
tempted to  retain  them  by  force  would  have  been  ineffec- 
tual, as  well  as  dangerous. 

NQ  courfe  was  now  left  to  Dumour'ier  but  to  retreat  with 
the  troops,  in  good  order,  for  the  purpofe  of  concealing 
their  defections,  and  to  prevent  their  being  maflacred  by 
the*  Imperialists  and  the  peafantsof  the  country.  In  this 
lad  condition  the  General  was  conftrained  to  pafs  the 
Greater  Gette  during  the  night,  arid  to  retire  to  the  heights 
of  Cumptich,  behind  Tirlemont.  All  his  movements  for 
this  purpofe,  being  performed  with  a  prccifion  that  fcarce- 
lv  could  have  been  expected  from  more  difciplincd,  and 
even  victorious  troops,  were  attended  with  the  greateft  fuc- 
cefs.  The  Imperialifts,  deceived  by  the  fires  that  were 
carefully  kept  up,  and  retrained  by  the  vigour  of  the  rear 
guard,  did  not  put  themfelves  in  motion  till  the  2Oth, 
ivhen  they  reconnoitred  Tirlemont,  from  which  the  French 
had  had  time  to  withdraw  their  magazines.  However, 
General  Miaczinikv,  who  was  charged  with  the  evacua- 
tion of  that  city,  loft  one  of  his  cannon  by  the  precipiLi- 
?;on  of  his  retreat. 

CHAP. 


CHAP.     VIII. 


Retreat  of  the  2Otk  and  21  ft  of  March.  —  Engagement  of 
Necrwelpe  —  "La  Croix  and  Danton  at  Lo  uv  am.  ~—  En- 
gagement of  the  22cl  of  March* 

DUMOURIER's  pofition  at  Cumptich  had  the  advan- 
tage of  being  confiderably  elevated  above  the  Gette.  In 
this  camp  his  front  faced  Tirlemont  ;  his  left  was  fecured 
by  the  river  Welpe,  which  turning  ihort  ran  upon  his 
rear,  by  Bauterfem  .and  Wertryk;  his  right,  pofted  be- 
hind Hougaerde,  was  not  fo  well  defended.  The  Gene- 
ral, however,  could  not  maintain  himfelf  long  in  this  po- 
fition, nor  was  it  any  protection  to  Louvain  if  the  Impe- 
rialifts  fhould  pafs  by  Dieft  ;  nor  to  BruiTels  if  they  fhould 
turn  by  Judoigne.  He  therefore  availed  himfelf  of  the 
2Oth  of  March,  while  the  enemy  were  before  Tirlemont, 
to  pafs  the  Welpe,  and  encamp  near  Bauterfern,  having 
his  right  at  Op  and  Neerwelpe,  and  his  left  on  the  heights 
and  in  the  woods  in  front  of  Zuellenberg. 

Fie  fent  General  Neuilly,  with  his  divifion  increafed 
to  6000  men,  toward  Judoigne,  with  orders  to  prevent  de- 
tachments ofthe  Imperialifts  from  penetrating  on  that  fide, 
to  watch  their  motions,  and,  if  they  mould  appear  with  a 
force  greatly  fuperior,  to  fall  back  to  Bruflcls  by  the  forcft 
of  Soignies.  Dumourier  gave  General  Neuilly  inftructions 
refpefting  the  means  of  defending  this  foreft,  and  wrote 
to  General  Duval,  to  reinforce  Neuilly  with  as  many  men 
as  he  could  fpare  from  the  garrifon  of  Brutlels,  and  the 
new  levies  which  might  arrive  there.  He  alfo  ordered 
Genera]  Duval  to  arreft  the  deferters  and  fend  them  back 
to  his  army. 

He  commanded  General  d'Hartille  to  place  a  garrifon 
of  2,500  men  in  the  citadel  of  Namur,  and  to  hold  himfelf 
in  readincfs  to  inarch  with  the  remainder  of  his  troops, 
cither  toward  BrufTels,  or  in  fuch  other  direction  as  mould 
be  neceflary  by  the  motions  of  General  Beaulieu,  who 
was  advancing  with  8000  or  10,000  men  bv  the  route  of 
Huy 


fteM 


Dumourier  threw  into  Dieft  a  garrifon,  which  appear- 
ec!  to  him  to  be  fufficient  ;  General  Champmcrin  having 
inaccurately  reported  this  place  to  be  flronger  than  in  fact 
it  was.  He  polled  General  Miaczinfky  at  the  abbey  cf 
Gemps,  in  communication  with  Dieft.  He  reinforced  the 
garriibn  of  Maiines.  He  lent  General  Ruault  to  Ant- 
werp, to  aililt  Lieutenant-Genera!  Maraffe,and  to  take  the 
command  of  thearmy  in.tjxat  quarter,  which  reinforced  by 
the  divifion  of  General  Marliere,  amounted  to  more  than 
20,000  men.  He  recommended  to  General  Ruault  to  hold 
the  poft  of  Riers  as  long  as  it  was  poflible,  and  to  fall 
back  within  the  lines  of  Antwerp,  if  the  Pruffians  and 
Dutch  (hould  advance  upon  him  in  too  great  force. 

On  the  fame  day,  on  the  2oth  of  March,  a  detach- 
ment of  the  enemy  without  cannon,  and  inferior  in  num- 
bers to  the  garriibn  of  Dieit,  appearing  before  that  place, 
the  garriibn  fled  in  a  cowardly  manner  as  far  as  Maiines. 
But  the  advanced  guard  of  the  Imperialitls  making  <?n  at- 
tack upon  the  villages  of  Op  and  Neenvelpe  was  repul- 
fed. 

While  Dumourier  was  engaged  in  rcpulf.ng  this  attack, 
the  commirlioners  of  the  Convention,  La  Croix  and  Dan- 
ton,  arrived  in  his  camp,  but  he  fer.t  them  to  Louvain, 
where  he  followed  them  on  the  evening  of  that  day. 
They  appeared  extremely  aflcdted  with  the  recent  defeat 
of  the  army,  but  in  a  fiill  greater  degree  with  the  dcfcr- 
tion  of  the  troops  ;  having  met  at  liruilels  and  in  various 
parts  of  their  route,  entire  corps  returning  to  France.  But, 
whatever  was  their  concern  on  thei'e  fubjects,  their  minds 
were  much  more  engaged,  as  they  laid,  in  the  execution 
of  the  commifTion  with  which  they  were  charged  :  to 
prevail  on  the  general  to  retract  his  letter  of  the  I2th  of 
March  ;  which,  by  its  too  great  franknefs,  had  ftirred  up 
the  bittcrcft  refentment  of  the  convention  againft  him. 

Dumourier  anfwered  that  he  had  exprefled  no  more 
in  his  letter  than  his  real  fentirr.ents  ;  that  the  dilaftersto 
whichthey  were  witnefswere  the  ncceffary  confequence 
of  the  evils  of  which  he  had  complained  ;  that  he  fought 
only  to  remedy  thole  evils  b\  putting  an  end  to  the  tyran- 
ny and  injuitice  exercifed  in  Belgium  ;  that  the  neceffity 
which  they  mult  perceive  of  his  retiring  from  a  country 
in  which  he  had  no  means  of  defence  ought  to  Convince 
them  of  the  prudent  tenor  ot  his  proclamations,  againit 
which,  the  convention  were  prejudiced,  only  bccaufethey 
were  miiinformed  and  betrayed  ;  that  thofe  proclama- 
tions 


t     165     ) 

tionshad  induced  the  peafants  of  Belgium  to  lay  down  their 
arms,  and  had  reftored  a  degree  of  confidence  between 
the  French  and  Belgians,  and  were,  therefore,  the  means 
of  laving;  the  trfcops,  who  diforganized,  beaten,  difgufled 
and  dilpirit-d,  were  altogether  incapable  of  defending 
themfelves  againfl  the  Irnperialifts,  more  numerous  than 
themfelves  and  flushed  with  viftory,  and  at  the  fame  time 
againft  the  people  of  the  country,  {hould  the  refentment 
of  the  latter  be  again  excited. 

The  commiffioners  were  conftrained  to  acknowledge 
the  juftice  of  thefe  reprefentations  ;  but  ftill  continued  to 
infill  on  the  general's  retracting  his  letter.  The  gene- 
ral, after  reviewing  before  them  all  the  fubje£ts  of  his 
complaints,  and  fetting  forth  in  the  ftrongeft  manner,  the 
misfortunes  that  were  on  the  eve  of  refulting  from  the  un- 
wile  and  unjuft  conduct  of  the  convention,  made  a  pofi- 
tive  declaration  to  the  commifTioners  that  he  would  in  no 
part  retract  his  letter,  fmce  the  lofs  or  the  gain  of  a  battle 
could  not  effect  any  change  in  his  principles,  opinions  or 
character.  The  CommifTioners  conducted  this  conference 
with  much  addrefs  and  energy,  and  endeavoured  to  win 
Dumourier  by  the  moft  flattering  confiderations.  At 
length,  after  a  very  long  conteft,  the  general  confcnted 
to  write  a  few  lines  to  the  prefident  of  the  convention,  in 
which  he  requefled,  that  the  convention  would  poftpont 
their  judgement  on  his  letter  of  the  1 2th  of  March,  till  he 
fliould  have  an  opportunity  of  fending  them  an  explana- 
tion of  the  reafuns  of  that  letter.  The  two  deputies  de- 
parted with  this  unimportant  declaration. 

On  the  21,  the  general  being  informed  of  the  lofs  of 
Dieft,  refolved  to  take  a  pofition  nearer  Lou\ain,  left  the 
enemy,  pafliner  the  canal,  ihould  cut  offhis  communication 
with  Malines,  or  fall  upon  Louvain  itfelf.  He  ported  the 
divifion  of  General  Champmorio  on  the  heights  of  Pel - 
lenberg,  flanking  his  left  by  that  of  Miaczinfky,  pofted 
at  St.  Peterfroede  :  General  La  Marche  with  the  advanced 
guard  on  the  heights  of  Corbec,  fkirting  the  high  road  : 
eighteen  battalions  of  the  army  of  the  Ardennes,  com- 
manded by  General  Le  Vcrtcur,  on  the  heights,  and  in 
the  woods  of  Mezendacl  :  and  the  divifion  of  General 
Dampierre  at  Fiorival,  in  communication  with  General 
Ncuilly's  divifion,  which  fell  back  tov/ari.Tombeck,  at 
the  entrance  of  the  foreft  of  Soignics. 

During 
E  e 


(      206      ) 

During  tbefe  movements,  the  troops  were  harrafTcd  by 
the  Imperialisms,  who  cannonaded  them  the  whole  day. 
On  the  morning  of  the  22d,  the  enemy  made  a  general 
attack  on  the  poits  of  Pellenberg,  Corbec  and  the  woods 
ofMazendael.  Blierbeck  was  between  the  enemy  and 
General  Le  Veneur,  and  he  had  thought  proper  to  occu- 
py it.  A  column  of  Hungarian  grenadiers  made  thern- 
Jelves  mailers  of  this  village  but  were -driven  out  with 
great  (laughter,  and  with  the  lois  of  two  pieces  of  cannon, 
by  the  regiment  of  Auvcrgne,  commanded  by  Colonel 
Dumas.  The  attack  on  the  advanced  guard  was  lefs  vi- 
gorous, but  that  on  the  poll  of  Pellenberg  was  extremely 
bloody,  General  Champmorin  defending  himielf  with 
equal  courage  and  ability.  He  received  a  ftrong  rein-" 
forcement  during  the  attack,  and  the  enemy  were  unable 
to  make  any  impreffion  en  his  lines.  This  action  was 
extremely  hot,  and  lafted  the  whole  day.  The  Auflrian 
columns  furFered  great  lois,  and  were  compelled  to  re- 
tire. 

On  the  evening  preceding  this  brilliant  aclion,  General 
Dumourier  had  occafion  to  lend  Colonel  Montjoye  to  the 
head-quarters  of  the  Prince  of  Cobourg,  to  treat  refpedl- 
ing  the  wounded  and  the  priioncrs.  He  then  law  Colo- 
nel Mack,  an  officer  of  uncommon  merit,  who  obferved 
to  Colonel  Montjoye,  that  it  might  be  equally  advantage- 
ous to  both  pairties  to  agree  to  a  fufpenfien  of  arms.  Du- 
mourier, who  had  deeply  considered  the  dangerous  fitua- 
tion  of  his  army,  fent  Montjoye  again  to  Colonel  Mack 
on  the  22cl,  to  demand  if  ha  would  come  to  Lovain,  and 
make  the  lame  proportion  to  Dumourier.  Colonel  Mack 
came  in  the  evening,  1  he  following  articles  were  ver- 
bally agreed  to  ;  Firit,  :hat  the  Imperialifts  (hould 
not  again  attack  the  French  army  in  great  force,  nor  Ge- 
neral Dumourier  again  offer  battle  to  the  Imperialiils. 
Secondly,  tint  on  the  faith  of  this  tacit  armitlice,  the 
French  Should  retire  to  Brufiels  flowly  and  in  good  order, 
without  any  oppofition  from  the  enemy.  And  lafily  that 
Dumourier  and  Colonel  Mack  fhould  have  another  inter- 
view after  the  evacuation  of  Brufiels,  in  order  to  fettle  fur- 
ther articles  that  might  then  be  mutually  deemed  ne- 
eeflary. 

This  ftipulation,  the  firft  that  was  entered  into  between 
the  two  generals,  became  hourly  of  more  importance  to 
Dumourier.  His  army  was  greatly  dirninimed,  efpecially 
in  officers.  He  had  fcarcely  ammunition  for  a  battle  ; 

and 


(     207     ) 

and  unfortunately,  he  was  well  perfuaded  that,  in  cafe  of 
a  fcrious  attack,  he  ihould  be  abandoned  by  his  army. 

He  had  fufficient  proof  of  this  on  the  following  day. 
The  Imperialifts  thought  themfelves  fo  little  bound  by 
the  articles  agreed  to  by  Colonel  Mack,  that  General 
Clairfait  (who  was  ignorant  of  thefe  articles)  fell  upon  the 
advanced  guard  and  the  troops  ported  at  Peilenberg.  The 
action  became  general  along  the  whole  front  of  the  army. 
Champmorin  defended  himfelf  with  the  fame  obftinacy  as 
before  ;  but  toward  the  clofe  of  the  action,  when  the  Im- 
perial infantry  were  actually  retiring,  and  there  was  no 
longer  any  enemy  before  the  army,  excepting  fome  light 
troops,  old  General  La  Marche  berame  fuddenly  terrified; 
and,  notwithftanding  the  intrcaties  of  Mont  joy  e,  De  Ba- 
rois,  and  other  officers  of  diilinciion,  he  retired  in  great 
confufion,  firft  to  the  abbey  of  Duparc,  and  afterwards  to 
the  other  fide  of  the  river  Dyle,  behind  Louvain. 

The  Imperialifls,  who  acknowledged  a  lofs  of  700 
men,  (that  .is  to  fay  2000  in  both  actions)  were  fo  much 
difcouraged  that  they  took  no  advantage  of  this  cowardly 
retreat,  which  left  a  very  dangerous  interval  between  Ge- 
neral Le  Veneur  arid  General  Chain pmorin. 

General  Le  Veneur  had  fought  with  great  vigour  du- 
ring the  whole  of  the  action,  but,  feeing  himfelf  aban- 
doned by  La  Marche,  he  alfo  paffed  the  Dyle,  without 
waiting  for  any  orders,  and  polled  himfelf  between  Ccor<- 
bceck  and  Reverie. 

After  the  defection  of  thcfe  two  divifions,  Dumouricr 
vras  compelled  to  order  General  Chaippmcnn  to  abandon 
Peilenberg,  and  to  retreat  alfo  behind  Louvain,  pafling 
through  the  city,  and  by  the  abbey  of  Vlierbecke. 

General  Miaczinfky  retired  by  a  bridge  on  the  hig;h 
roa  1  of  Did!,  being  protected  by  a  battery  of  cannon 
placed  on  the  heights  above. 

Dumourier  availed  himfelf  of  thefe  two  days,  to  re- 
move his  wounded,  and  the  flour  for  his  army,  in  boats, 
to  Malines.  Other  articles  belonging  to  the  troops  were 
thrown  into  the  river  ;  but  the  confufion  attending  the 
evacuation  of  Louvain,  and  the  avarice  of  individuals, 
caufed  a  great  quantity  of  thefe  articles  lo  fail  into  the 
hands  of  the  enemy,  who  entered  Louvain  that  very 
evening,  as  the  general  retired  with  the  garrifon,  confiff- 
ing  of  five  battalions,  which  formed  his  rear  guard.— — 
The  ImperiaUfts  alfo  took  fome  boats  laden  with  wound- 

cd, 
E  e  2 


ed,  which  the  efcort  abandoned  on  fight  of  a  few  huf- 
fars.  Thefe  wounded  foldiers  were  treated  with  gre$t 
humanity,  notwithftanding  the  atrocious  calumnies  of  the 
Jacobins,  fpread  with  a  defign  of  irritating  the  French 
troops,  and  of  inftigating  them  to  make  war  without 
quarter,  and  with  greater  barbarity. 

The  difgraceful   retreat  of  the  French  from  Louvain, 
is  among  the  inftances  that  prove  how  delicate    and  dan- 
gerous  is  the  fituation  of  the  gener.-ls  commanding  the 
French  armies.     Having   determined   on    their  plan    of 
attack  or  defence,  and  having  given   orders  for  its  exe- 
cution, they  will  be   continually   fubjecl   to  defeat  and 
ruin,  if  they  have  not  other  plans  in   referve   to  fiand  in 
the  place  of  orders  ill  executed   or  difobeyed  :   they  can 
have  no  reliance  on  the  generals   under  their   command, 
who  are  frequently  the  firft  to  give   the  example  of  difo- 
bedience,  and   ibmetimes  of  cowardice  ;  they  can  never 
depend  for  a  moment  on  the   real  flrcngtli  or  poiition  of 
the  corps  that  are  not  in  their  fight,  fince  officers,  as  well 
as  men,  defert  or  change  their  pofition  at  pleafure  :  they 
have  no  means  of  remedying  thefe  ills,  fince   they  dare 
not  punim,  being  certain  of  making  mod:  dangerous  ene- 
mies of  thofe  whofc  faults  they  do  but  reprove  :   they  arc 
ever  in  danger  of  wanting  even  food  fcr  their  troops,  be- 
caufe  the  ancient  fyitcm   of  providing  neceilaries  for  the 
army   has  been  changed,  to   ferve   the  purnofes  cf  ipno- 
jant  and  felfiib  men:  and,  they  will  feltlom  dare  to  haz- 
ard the  great  movements  that  decide  the  fate  of  war,  with 
ioldiers,  who,  though  prefumptupuily   brave,  are   defti- 
tute  of  good  officers,  are  ill   armed,  inexperienced,  ea- 
fily  difcouraged,  mutinous,  fond  of  reafoning,  and  alto- 
gether let  loofe  from  military  law. 

But,  if  a  General  be  notwithstanding  fuccefsful,  the 
calumnies  of  the  Journals  and  Clubs  await  him,  and  he 
is  fure  of  being  acculcd  before  the  fufpieious,  blind,  and 
imprudent  Convention.  If  he  fee  unfortunate,  the  whale 
weight  of  refponfibility  is  thrown  upon  him,  and  he  is 
branded  with  the  name  of  coxvard  or  traitor. 

Such  is  the  fituation  in  which  the  Republic  of  France 
places  her  generals  in  a  war,  on  which  depends,  not 
only  the  political  exiftence  of  the  nation,  but  the  indivi- 
dual liberty  of  every  citizen.  Dumourier  has  been  re- 
placed by  Dampierre,  who  had  the  good  foitune  to  be 
killed  in  battle  ;  Dampierre  by  CuHinc,  who  pcrilhed  on 
a  fcaffoM  ;  the  latter  by  Hcucha-rd,  who  tvas  difgraced 

the 


the  moment  that  he  had  defeated  the  Duke  of  York,  and 
raifed  the  fiege  of  Dunkirk  ;  anil  it  is  the  detefrablc 
Jourdan*  who  now  commands  the  army,  which  alone 
fbnds  between  Paris  and  the  vengeance  of  the  powers  of 
Europe. 

In  Alface,  on  the  foutliern  frontier,  and  in  the  interior 
part  of  France,  v/c  have  feen  the  i\me  fucceffion  of  ge- 
nerals. Every  old  and  experienced  officer  has  been  crivcn 
from  the  fervice  ;  and  phyfioians,  painters,  and  poftili- 
lions  command  armies.  It  is  laid  that  Caligula made  his 
horfe  conful.  People  of  France,  become  as  degenerate 
as  you  arc  cruel,  you  youri'elves  prepare  the  initruments 
of  your  deftruotion  ! 

*  We  are  affured  by  emigrant?,  a-rjvin*  here  from  the  ?rmv,  that  Ir  is  not 
Jourdan,  ot'  Avignon,  who  ccnimaurls  the  armies. Nate  of  the  Editor^. 


f  By  theatove  note  it  appears  that  Dnraourier  had  ipiftafcen  Gen.  Jourdan, 
who  defeated  the  baibarians  af  Maubeuge,  for  Jourdaa  the  aiiailin  of  Avig- 
f.on,  T. 


C  H.A  P.     IX. 


to  Bnifft'h.—  Evacuation  of  Bru/fcls.  —  Camp    of 
'«•  —  Camp  of  Afk.  —  Conference  at  Ath  zvith  Cat, 
k.  —  The  Arreji  of  Gen. 


THE  difordcr  accompany  Ing  the  retreat  from  louvain 
utterly  checked  the  energy  the  army  had  difplayed  in  the 
two  preceding  combats.  Happily,  night  concealed  this 
univerOil  defetlion  of  the  troops  from  the  enemy,  who, 
notwithstanding  the  verbal  fcirrulr.iicrjs  agreed  to  by  Col. 
Mack,  would  probably  have  ic!::xi  upon  this  opportunity 
to  deflroy  cr  entirely  difperfe  the  French  army. 

Dumourier  with  g-eat  difliculiy  prevailed  on  the  troops 
to  halt  on  the  heights  of  Coztenbergu.e,  half  way  on  the 
road  *o  Bruffels.  And  this  new  calamity  induced  him  t» 
make  an  entire  change  in  the  difpofition  of  the  feveral 
corps  under  his  command.  lie  lent  aa  order  to  General 
l>uval  to  prepare  for  the  evacuation  of  Bruflels.  lie  re- 
moved old  General  la  Marches  from  the  command  of  the 

advanced! 


advanced  g,uard,  which  he  gave  to  General  Vouillc.  He 
formed  this  advanced  guard,  which  was  now  become  the 
rear-guard,  of  a  ftrong  body  of  the  artillery,  of  all 
•  K  cavalry  of  the  army,  and  of  twenty-five  battalions, 
ahnoft  the  whole  of  which  w.eie.  troops  of  the  line, 
lie  himfelf  took  poft  in  this  rear  guard,  which  amounted 
to  near  1 5,000  men,  and  which  indeed  might  he  faid  to 
be  his  army.  The  other  part  of  the  troops  marched  under 
the  protection  of  this  chofen  body,  which  behaved  in  a 
manner  worthy  the  importance  of  its  (ration. 

Dumourier  eftabiifned  his  camp  under  the  walls  of  Bruf- 
fels,  by  the  fide  of  the  little  river  of  Woluwe,  having  his 
right  at  San-peters- waluwe,  and  his  left  at  Vilverde. — 
Having  taken  the  precaution  of  tranf  porting  his  park  of 
anillery  to  Anderiecht,  he  lent  it  ofF  on  the  23d  to 
Tournay,  by  the  road  of  E^ghien  and  Ath,  keeping  only 
the  cannon  ncceflary  for  his  rear  guard. 

The  Prince  of  Cobourg,  who  was  ignorant  of  the  de- 
plorable condition  of  the  French  troops,  no  doubt  deem- 
ed himielf  happy  in  the  fufpenfion  of  arms,  which  pro- 
cured him  pofteilion  of  the  Netherlands,  without  further 
combat.  But  refinance  on  the  part  of  Dumourier  could 
only  have  tended  to  lay  wafte  the  country,  without  ena- 
bling him  to  keep  his  footing  in  it. Since  the  Empe- 
ror Jofeph  demoliihed  the  ftrong  places  of  thoie  Provin- 
ces, they  are  deftitute  of  any  point  that  can  refill:  an  in- 
vading army  ;  a  battle  gained  gives  the  conqueror  fifty 
leagues  of  country,  or  perhaps  drives  the  vanquiihed  to 
the  extreme  frontier. 

The  engagements  entered  into  by  Colonel  Mack  were 
faithfully  obierved  by  the  Prince  of  Cobourg,  who  re- 
mained three  days  at  Louvain,  fending  only  fmall  de- 
tachments to  hang  upon  Dumourier's  rear  guard.  1  he 
General  was  therefore  at  liberty  to  provide  for  the  fafety 
of  BruiTels,  and  of  the  other  great  cities  through  which 
t'le  French  army  were  compelled  to  pafs  on  their  retreat. 
Juftice  and  humanity  demanded  that  the  Belgians  fhould 
not  be  pillaged,  and  it  was  effential  to  avoid  every  means 
pf  irritating  them.  They  had  pardoned  the  exccffes 
committed  by  the  French,  and  had  rendered  them  new 
fcrvices,  and  it  was  a  duty  to  avoid  opening  the  re- 
cent wounds  of  the  country,  fince  in  that  cafe  defpair 
would  have  again  driven  them  to  aims,  and  the  French, 
furrounded  by  the  Auftrians  and  Belgians,  had  been  en- 
tirely facrificetl. 

On 


(       2"       ) 

On  the  25111,  the  army  patted  through  Bruffcls,  ob* 
jferving  the  greateft  order  and  good  conduit,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  Hail,  from  whence  the  General  defigned  they 
fhould  march  in  two  columns  to  the  frontiers  of  France, 
No  pillage  xvas  committed  by  the  troops,  nor  were 
any  infults  offered,  or  reproaches  made  on  either  part. 
The  inhabitants  of  Bruffels  did  not  forget  this  ier- 
vice  rendered  them  by  General  Dumourier.  They  have 
expreffed  their  remembrance  of  it  bv  marks  of  public 
cfteem*.  Dumourier  renVcrs  on  the  juftice  they  have 
done  him  with  pleufirtf,  and  he  would  not  have  been 
profcribed,  and  a  fugitive,  had  he  every  where  found 
equal  juftice. 

The  General's  object  now  was  to  provide  for  the  fafety 
of  the  different  detached  forces,  and  to  concert  fuch 
movements  as  that  their  retreat  might  keep  pace  with  his. 
While  General  Beaulieu  was  penetrating  with  leven 
or  eight  thouiand  men  by  Huy,  the  Prince  of  Holienloe 
was  advancing  by  the  province  cf  Luxemburg  agair  ft 
Namur,  which  was  occupied  by  15,000  men,  tinder  the 
command  of  General  dTIarviile.  But  this  divifion  had 
been  formed  at  the  expence  of  the  garrifons  of  Givet  and 
Maubeuge  ;  and  the  Prjmceof  Hohcnloe.  turning  by  one 
of  thefe  places,  might  ma.ke  himfelf  mafter  of  it,  and 
penetrate  into  France. 

Dumourier  commanded  General  d'Harville  to  leave 
2,500  men  with  provifionsand  ammunition  in  the  citadel 
of  Namur  ;  and,  dividing  the  remainder  of  his  trcops 
in  two  columns,  to  fend  one  to  Givet  under  the 
command  of  Lieutenant-general  Bouchet,  and  to  re- 
tire with  the  other  toward  Maubeuge  ;  halting  firft  at 
Charleroy,  and  afterward  pofting  himfelf  on  the  heights 
of  Niny  above  Mons.  In  this  polilion  General  d'Har- 
ville would  cover  Maubeuge,  la  Qiiefnoy,  Conde  and 
Valenciennes  ,*  and,  as  he  would  then  be  reinforced  at 
Mons  with  the  divifion  of  General  Neuilly,  confifting  of 
6ooamen,  his  divifion  would  be  augmented  to  12,000 
men,  be  fide  the  reinforcements  daily  arriving. 

In  anfwer  to  thefe  inftructions,  General  d'Harville  in- 
formed Dumourier,  that  he  had  neither  provifions,  ammu- 


*  Duimurier  will  e^er  be  loved  and  refpefted  by  the  Belgians.  It  was  in 
the  attempt  to  iave  them  from  the  decree  of  the  I5th  of  December  that  }.p 
fell.  They  will  never  forget  the  courage  and  humanity  that  he  exerted  in  theii 
be  halves.  The  £DI  TOR  i-.-ntures  to  make  tbit  fr^ife  in  tkt  name  of  bn  c»int- 
try.  .Note  by  th.s  CritiQi  Editer. 


»Jtion  nor  money  fufificient  to  provide  for  the  citadel  of 
Namur  fcarcely  for  fifteen  days  order  ;  that  he  muft 
either  abandon  the  citadel  or  defend  it  with  the  whole  of 
his  divifion  ;  and  demanded  of  General  Dumourier  de- 
terminate orders  in  what  manner  to  conduct  himfelf. 
With  thefe  difpatehes  from  General  d'Harville,  cam« 
alfo  letters  to  the  fame  eflect  from  General  Bouchot,  and 
documents  from  the  Commiffary  Earneville  tliat  juftified 
his  ftatements. 

Dumourier  had  ro  need  to  deliberate  upon  the  orders 
it  was  neceffary  fo  give  General  d'HarvilJe.  To  leave 
this  divifion  at  Nnmur,  was  to  rifk  the  Jofs  of  Givet  or 
Maubcuge,  both  in  want  of  troops,  and  had  either  of  them 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  the  divifion  of  Namur 
would  hive  been  cafily  furrornded  ;  and  to  leave  2,500 
men  in  the  citadel,  without  money  and  ammunition,  was 
in  effect  to  deliver  them  to  the  Auftrians.  13 e  therefore 
ordered  General  cl'Earvil'e  entirely  to  evacuate  Namur, 
and  retire  in  good  o:der  to  Givet  and  Maubeugc. 

Dumourier  ccniVered  the  fix  battalions  polled  in  Bre- 
da, and  the  three  in  Gertruydenberg,  as  left,  yet  their 
having  provifions  for  four  cr  five  months,  r.nd  great  ftorc 
of  ammunition,  would,  he  knev,r,  enable  them  a  confide- 
rable  time  to  flop  the  prorrtfs  of  the  Pruflir.ns  and  Dutch. 
In  order  to  Leep  open  a  communication  xvith  this  divi- 
fion of  his  army,  Dun:curit:r  law  it  wasneceflary  to  fecure 
the  citadel  of  Antwerp,  and  commanded  General  Berne- 
ron  to  pofc  himfelf ::  that  citadel  with  2000  men,  and  fix 
months  ftore  of  prcvifisR*. 

Dumouricr  appointed  Lieutenant-general  Omoran  to 
the  command  at  Ounkirk,  and  alosg  the  fea-coall;  of  the 
department  of  the  North  ;  and  ordered  him  to  repair  the 
lines  and  forts  of  the  intrenched  aunp  between  Dunkirk 
and  Bergucs  ;  to  form  33  intrenched  camp  on  Mount 
Caflel  ;  to  go  in  perfon  to  Coi  rtray  to  take  upon  him  the 
command  cf  the  army  of  Holta::d,  r.nd  to  poll  it  in  the 
camp  of  Haerlebccke,  Iiavins:  the  Scheldt  in  front. 

He  fent  orders  to  General  Mrra Heard  General  Ruault, 
to  make  their  retre?t,  pafiing  the  Scheldt  by  the  extremity 
of  Flanders  through  Ghent,  to  the  crmp  of  Courtray,  or 
Haerlebecke,  while  the  raniion  of  Malines  (hou'd  re- 
tire to  the  fame  place  by  Der.lermc/ode  along  the  Scheldt ; 
being  careful  not  to  precipitate  their  retreat,  and  to  cut 
down  the  bridges  after  them. 

General  Dumourier's  defign  was,  if  he  could  have  held 
*hc  citadels  of  Namur  and  Antwerp,  to  have  formed  a 

ftrong 


y§  1 

r:  ,  without  the  territory  of  France,  running  froitt 
Hie  right- to  the  left  oy  Namuir,  Mons,  Tournay,  Cbur- 
tray,  Antwerp,  Breda,  and  Gertruydenberg.  In  this  fi- 
tuatidn,  if  the  fufyenfiori  of  arms  mould  have  continued^ 
he  hoped  to  have  greater  influence  on  the  re-eftablifh- 
ment  of  order  in  France.  In  the  cafe  of  the  fufpenfion 
r>f  arms  being  broken,  the  Imperialists  finding  themfehes 
in  the  centre  of  a  fcrnicircle,  Would  be  compelled  to  com>- 
mence  their  attack  at  the  two  extremities  to  proceed  with 
iafetyj  which  would  turn  the  campaign  into  a  war  of  fieges 
on  their  pnrt,  carried  on  at  the  expence  of  their  own  ter- 
* itory.  Thus  Dumourier  would  have  gained  time  to  ire"- 
•organife  and  reinforce  his  army  :  which,  having  the 
ftrong  places  df  France  behind  it,  might  have  been  refto- 
red  to  its  former  confide nee 4 

On  this  fuppofitioe  Dumourie'r  would  have  occupied 
the  city  of  Tournay,  and  the.  camp  of  Antoing  ;  from 
which'  place  if  the  enemy  had  been  greatly  fupcrior,  he 
«"ould  have  retired  to  a  very  ftrong  pofition  in  his  formei: 
camp  of  Maulde. 

In  purfuit  of  this  plan  (which  had  undergone  no  other 
•rhangCj  trnn  that  of  the  evacuation  of  the  citadel  of  Na- 
inur)  he  marched  on  the  26th  to  Enghien,,  and  on  the 
22th  .to  Ath,  \vhile  the  divifion  of  General  Neuilly 
marched  to  Mons  by  Hall  and  Braine. 

At  Atlij  he  received  orders  from  the  Convention  to 
wrrcft  the  colonel  of  the  73d  regiment  of  infantry,  (who 
had  abandoned  the  army  without  orders,  taking  with  him 
his  two  battalions, and  returned  to  France,)  and  alfo  Ge- 
neral Miranda.  Dumourier  executed  the  order  that  re- 
l'pec\«d  General  Miranda  with  regret,  fince  he  was  p£r~ 
funded,  that  this  rigorous  meafure  was  lefsana£tof  juittce.- 
than  the  erfe<Sl  of  the  hatred  of  the  Jacobins  againll  Pe- 
thion  and  the  Girondifts,  who  were  the  friends  and  pro- 
tcclors  of  Miranda.  This  General  found  means  to  ef- 
cape  the  danger  in  accufmg  Dumourier,  after  his  quitting 
the  army  f  an  event  which  was  extremely  favourable  to 
Nliranda. 

On  the  fame  day  Colonel  Mack  arrived  at  Ath  ;  a 
verbal  agreement  was  again  entered  into  between  that  of- 
ficer and  Dumourier  ;  but  this  was  in  much  more  forrnaL 
tcrms  than  the  former.  The  colonel  began  by  ekpreffing 
thf  acknowledgments  of  the  ImperialifU,  for  the  peacea- 
ble manner  in  which  the  retreat  of  the  French  troops  was 
o»ndir£te;i,  in  con-le.iuence  of  the  prudence  of  General 

F  f 


{       2I4 

Dumourier's  orders  ;  by  which  means  the!  country 
fpared  the 'nioft  frightful  difafters.  On  the  other  hand,  he 
noticed  the  moderation  {hewn  by  the  Imperial  general, 
who,- while  he  forbore  to  hairais  the  French  troops  on 
their  retreat^  took  care,  nevcrfhelefs,  to  conceal  from  both 
armies  the  connivance  between  die  two  generals. 

It  was  agreed  upon  by  Fhnnourier,  and  Colonel  Macjt, 
that  the  French  army  fhould  remain  feme  time  longer  in 
the  pofition  of  Moris,  Tournav,  and  Courtray,  without  be- 
-Ing  harrafled  by  the  Imperial  army  ;  that  General  Du- 
inourier,  who  did  not  conceal  from  Colonel  Mack. his  de- 
iign  of  marching  againft  Paris,  Ihould,  xv;hen  ihcirdefigns 
were  ripe  for  execution,  regulate  :i;'e  motions  of  .the  1m- 
perijliiis;  who'fhould  only  act  as  auxiliaries  in  the  execu- 
tion of  their  plan  ;  that,  -in  fhe  cafe  of  Dumourier's  ha- 
ving no  need  of  affUtance,  which  was  to  be  greatly  defued 
bv  both  parties,  the  Iri.perialiils  ilioiud  not  advance  far- 
ther than  the  frontier  of  Trance,  afid  that  the  total  evacu- 
ation of  Belgium  ibould  be  the  price  of  this  condefcention, 
but  if  Durnourier  could  not  efiect  the  re-eflablifhment  ot 
a  limited  monarchy,  (not  a  counter-revolution,)  lie  him- 
ielf  Ihould  indicate  the  number  and  the  kind  of  troops 
which  the  Imperials  ihould  furnim,  to  aid  in  the  proje«5l, 
nnd  thould  be  entirely  under  Dumourjer's  direction. 

Dumoiifier  made  Colonel  Ma'ck  acquainted  with  his 
defign  of  marching  the  following  day  to  Tournay,  with 
the  march  of  General  Xeuilly  to  Mons,  and  of  the  army 
uf  Holland"  to  Courtray. 

It  was  finally  decided  that  in  order  to  combine  the  ope- 
rations of  the  Imperial  troops  under  the  Prince  of  Co- 
bour£,  and  thofe  under  the  Prince  of  Hohenloe,  at  the 
time" when  Dumourier  fhould  march  to  Paris,  Condc 
thoukl  be  put  into  the  hands  of  the  Auftrians,  as  a  pledge; 
that  the  Aiifliians  ihould  trairifon  the  town,  but  without 
any  pretenfibns  lo  the  fovereignty,  and  on  the  condition 
that  it  ihould  be  reftorcd  to  France,  af  the  conclufion  of 
the  war,  and  after  an  indemnity  ibould  have  been  fettled 
by  the  two  parties  ;  but  that  all  the  other  towns  belonging 
to  France,  fnould,  in  the  cafe  of  the  conftitutional  party 
needing  the  affiftancc  of  the  Imperialifts,  receive  ga'rri- 
lons,  one  half  of  which  ihould  be  French  troops,  and  "the 
other  half  Imperialifts,  under  the  orders  of  the  Fr&nch. 
General  Valvnce.  (General  I'houvenot,  the  Duke  dc 
Chartres,  and  Colonel  Mountjoye^affifted  at  this  confer- 

CHAP 


C  H  A  P.     X. 

Camp  of  Tour  nay. 


ON  the  28th,  Dumourier  marched  to  Tournay,'and 
took  the  pofition  of  Antoing,  having  his  advanced  guard 
in  Tournay,  and  the  flanking  corps  of  the  left,  command- 
ed by  General  Miackzinfky,  on  Mount  Trinity.  He 
fent  General  le  Veneur  with  the  army  or'  the  Ardennes, 
to  occupy  the  camp  of  Mauldc. 

In  this  was  Madame  de  Sillery,  with  Mademoifclle 
d'Orleans,  whom  the  general  had  never  till  then  feen. — 
Thefe  ladies  had  taken  up  their  refidence  at  Tournay, 
on  the  advice  which  Dumourier  had  before  this  given  to 
Lieutenant-General  Omoran,  who  then  commanded  in 
the  Tournaifis  ;  becaufe  Mademoifelle  d'Orleans,  who 
xyas  no  more  than  fifteen  years  of  age,  was  profcribed  in 
France  bv  the  decree  againft  the  Emigrants.  This  young 
Princefs.  (who  as  well  as  her  brothers,  the  Duke  de  Char- 
tres,  and  the  Duke  Montnenfier,  is  perfectly  well  bred, 
and  well. informed)  is  an  example  of  virtue,  refignation 
and  conftancy- 

The  Duke  de  Chartres,  who  had  ferved  the  preceding 
campaign  with  diflinguimed  valour,  and  a  pure  arid  dii- 
interefled  patriotifm,  and  who  had  recently  "displayed  a 
degree  of  courage,  and  civifm,  reflecting  honour  on  the 
French  name,  was  included  in  the  decree  of  banifhinent, 
rendered  againft  the  houfe  of  Bourbon,  and  would  have 
been  fubjec\  to  the  crueleil  vexations  the  moment  that 
he  fhould  enter  France. 

Dumourier,  during  the  two  days  that  he  pafTed  at  Tour- 
nay,  tefHfted  by  every  circumOance  in  his  po\ver  the  li\c- 
ly  concern  that  he  took  in  the  fate  of  this  unfortunate 
nnd  amia'jle  princefs.  As  both  ihe  and  Madame  de  Sil- 
lery were  greatly  in -dread  of  falling-  into  the  hands  -of 
the  Imperialists,  becauie  of  the  -infli:ence  which  they  fup- 
pofed  the  emigrants  to  poiiei's  with  the  ErhnerOr,  Du- 
mourierqn  hi^  departure  from  Tournav,  .cauled  them  tc 
be  conduced  to  St.  AmanJ.  When  the  generarY  pro- 
tection, tar  from  ferving,  might  have  been  fatal  to  thole 

F  f  3  ladies 


lauics  ,  they  accepted  of  an  afylum  In  Mons,  offered 
by  the  Imperial  generals.  If  the  'virtues  of  Mademoiiello 
^'Orleans  do  not  fin^l  their  recompenie,  at  leaft,  may  ihe 
find  protection  from  the  hands  ot  a  beneficent  Provi- 


While  Dumourier  remained  in  the  camp  of  Tournay, 
he  received  intelligence,  that  General  Neuilly's  divifion, 
onarivingat  Mons,in(tead'pf  "encamping  on  ihe  heights 
of  Nimy,  had  pillaged  the  magazines,  and  afterward  fled 
in  total  ditprder  (without  however,  being  attacked  by  the 
enemy,)  to  Conde  and  Valenciennes,  The  Cavaliy  on- 
ly remained  with  General  Ncuilly,  and  Dumcmier  com- 
manded him  to  retreat  with  thole  to  Conde,  fpreading 
over  as  much  ground  on  his  march  as  he  could  between- 
Binche,  Roeux,  Soignes,  and  Leufe  ;  carrying  oli  with 
Him  the  forage,  horfes,  apd  carriages,  and  cutting  down; 
the  bridges  behind  him. 

The  evacuation  of  Mon,s  rendered  Dumourier's  litua- 
tion  at  Tournay  very  dangerous,  his  right  being  altogether 
unprpte&ed  ;  but,  independent  of  the  fufpenfion  of  aims, 
his  knowledge  of  the  country  made  him  iecure  of  his  re- 
freat,  which  he  was  unwilling  to  undertake,  till  he~4hould 
iiave  known  what  movement  was  made  by  his  left.  He, 
therefore  only  took  the  precaution  cf  .commanding  Ge- 
neral d'Haryille  to  cpniine  himfeif  within  the  carr.p  of 
Maubeuge  and  Givet,  in  order  to  pi  event  the  enemy 
from  penetrating  on  the  French,  territpry,  on  that  fide. 

On  the  29th- of  March,  three  deputies  from  the  Jacobins 
arrival  atTpurnay.  They  introduced  themiejves  to  the 
General  by  faying,  that  f hey 'bore  a  commiffipn  fiom  Le 
Brun  ;and,  preleritinga  letter  from  that  minifter,  con* 
ceiveti  in  vague  and  uncertain  terms  ;  they  declared  they' 
had  communications  to  m.ake  to,  him  refpeciing  the  aftairs 
of  Belgium.  Thefe  three  men  were  Proly,  a  contempt- 
ible adventurer,  born  at  BruiYels  ;  Desjardines,  a  wiitcr 
of  little  note,  who  had  formerly  been  driven  from  Bruf- 
fels  ;  and  pereira,  a  Portuguefe  Jew.  The  frill  of  tjieic 
we  have  Icen  was  already  known  to  the  general  ;  the  ie- 
cond  called  himfeif  a  man  of  letters,  and  the  third  was  a 
furious  Jacobin.  They  were  otiended  that  the  general 
refufed  to  enter  op  the  fubjevl  of  ihcir  embaify,  before 
Mademoifeile  d'Qrleans,  to  v  hofe  apartments  they  had 
exprels.ly  come  to  utter  a  Philippic" againfl  the  general. 
He  made  an  appointment  tq  meet  them  nf  hij  own 

The 


The  converfation  that  took  place  between  Dunrtourler 
nnd  jhefe  men,  is  pretty  nearly  lucL  as  they  ^^ve  report* 
ed  it  to  be.  They  agreed  with  him  in  his  opinion  of  the 
imbecility  of  the  convention,  and  on  the  necevTuy  of  dii- 
perfmg  tiRt  afiembly,  and  eftabiiihing  tome  other  legis- 
lature. After  that,  they  founded  the  general  refpe£Ung, 
the  perfons  who  ihouid  fueceed  the  convention  in  their 
authority  ;  and  one  of  them  ventured  to  lay,  that  the  Jaco* 
bins  rud  their,  prefident,  regifters,  tribunes,  orators,  as 
well  as  the  halut  of  dii cuffing  or  determining  great  con- 
cerns ;  and  that  therefore,  there  \vas  no  need  to  look  fur- 
ther. Dumourier,  in  his  ufua!  fincere  and  decifive  man- 
ner, utterly  rejected  this  idea.;  grounding  his  objection 
on  the  immorality,  rulhnels,  cruelty,  and  incongupus 
qualities  of  that  fociety  ;  to  which  all  the  misfortunes  of 
France  he  declared  were  to  be  attributed. 

Proly  laid,  how  then  will  you  be  abls  to  replace  the  pre- 
fent  reprcfentativcs  of  the  people,  auii  at  the.  jamt  tuns 
avoid  the.  delays  and  other  d?fe£ls  of  the  modi  of  eleflion 
hy  primary  ajjzmblies  ?  The  general  anlVered,  nothing  is 
more  fimpl1'.,  or  more,  eafdy  acco/npliftied.  The  patnotifm 
of  the  adniinijlrators  of  the  departments  and  dijlrids  ist 
at  preftnt,  well  tried  and  approved*  For  this  otu  time,  if 
is  but  to  take  all  the  prociueurs-general  of  the  departments 
and  diftritli  :  and  to  complete  the  number  by  mtmb&rs  of 
the  departments  and  diJlnSs.  Thffe  zvillfcrm  a  very  com- 
petent Icgiflature  :  they  will  re-ejtabl<fb  the  conjhtuiion  of 
1 789"?  all  divifions  will  be  healed  in  France  :  the  Royalb/is 
will  lay  down  their  arms  ;  foreign  powers  will  no  lonfer 
have  any  colour  for  carrying  on  the  wj.r,  and  France,  ha* 
ving  a  folid  government  with  which  they  can  treat,  Kill 
li/len  with  readinefs  to  terms  of  peace.  For  do  not  you 
imagine,  the  general  added,  the  Republic  can  continue  to 
cxift  :  your  crimes  and  your  ignorance  have  dejlroyed  it$ 
fojjibility. 

'Thefe  three  men  made  fomc  objection  to  the  genemTs 
proportions,  l>ut  they  liilened  very  tranquilly  to  thofc 
frlafphemiet  of  the  general,  of  which  they  afterward  gave  io 
(ireadful  an  account.  D^siardines,  who  proceeded  fur- 
ther thaa  the  reft  in  his  addrefs  and  artifice,  laid  that  he 
iliould  return  10  Paris  to  give  an  account  of  hisj  miifion  ; 
and  that  he  hoped  fqoii  to  fee  the  general  again.  Thev 
took  their  leave  of  Dumouiier  vvi^iu>ut  mo-i^ftation  ,  and 
certainly,  he  never  thought  pf  arfie-fting  eun  .jkries  of  kicli 
little  confequer.ee. 


General  Dumourier  has  no  doubt  that,  had- lie  feconded 
their  idea  of  replacing  the  National  Convention  .by*  the 
ibciety  of  Jacobins,  he  had  entirely  gained  the  Confidence 
or  that  f(/:iety  ;  but  he  acknowledges  that  his  temper,  per- 
haps too  fi  .c:  r>  in  this  inttance,  robbed  him  of  the  poiTi- 
biim  of  feemifig  to  yield  to  their  meafures.  Me  inftant- 
ly  percer  o  lhat  lie  couM  net  turn  this  infinimer/t  to  his 
p-ir  poles,  i.Ltt  :.y  plugging  into  a  i  cries  of  horrid  c<  jnres  ; 
ar.  1  'he  everts  that  h  ive  I'ucceeded,  have  proved  io  him 
tru,  i  tiis  judgment  WdS  r?'f  'rrcneobs. 

da  ,  h.-  -ecelvec;  a  letter  from  the  feven 
conh  .  lor  •<  :c  the  convention,  n.et  at  Liile,  vho  ccin- 
him  io  r.ppear  in  that  cityj  to  amwer  to  the 
s  .^i^i^ed  agaihil  him.  Ke  aniVered,  that  being 
ht  Oi  the  eneiYiV,  employed -.in  re-organ'izing'hi*' 
and  in  iedorirtg  \^  courag^^  (which  .y.-s  indeed 
true)  he  could  not  quit  ih?  -UAV  •'••••:  aa  irit;r;nf  ;  hut  if  the 
commiirioners  would  ccme  to  him  at  Tournay,  he  would 
aniwer  every  accuiation  with  his  ufual  franknefs  ,•  that 
when. he  mould  have  accomplifhed  hisretreat,  and  thear- 
ntv  mould  be  fafe  in  the  French  territory,  he  would  have 
more  leifuretotake  intoconfideration  his  peribnal  arTairs; 
in  a  \vord,that  he  would  never  enter  Liile,  excepting  it 
fhouid  be  with  troops  to  puntlh  cowaids,  who  had  aban- 
doned their  colours  and  calumniated  the  moft  intrepid  d^-» 
fenders  of  their  country. 


C  H  A  P.     XL 

Retreat  to  the  Camp  of  Mauldz. 


GENERAL  DUMOURIER  was  extremely  uricafy 

respecting  the  fate  of  the  froops  at  Antwerp  ;   having  re- 

(•(.i'/ed  no  inteliigcnce  from  thut  quarter,  and  fearing  in- 

^at  General  Riult  who  ho<e.  his  orders  to  General 

Nlarv.    .,  H  :d  fallen  into-the  )>and.s  of  the  enemy. 

ret-^t  from  Antwerp  acrofs  the  Scheldt,  by    the 
'•inders,  was  long  and  dilhcult.     I '.it  lxu- 
inb.r-'si-krievv  '  ^e*-py  were  lei's  numcron;  ii»   t!inr 

quarter  than   tl  ;tv;;-rp.     The  PruCia/is   .-n-i 

Dutch  were  before  Gertruydenbcro;  and  Breda  ;   a'nd  Co- 
lonel 


(     '21.9       ) 

lonel  .Mylius,  .who  prefentcd  liimfelf  before  Antwerp 
'had  not  11101  e  than  2000  rm:n,  and  'hole  \veie  irregular 
troops  of  the  Irnpeiuil  army. 

But  the  French  troops  at  Anfv  erp  1  r  r  ''  n  into  full 
greater  diibi dei  than  ar.y  other  part^j  '  .  '1  hey 

were  feized  with  a  panir,  and  the  .  enen-  is  were '  o  longer 
inafteis  of  them.  On  the  26th,  Colctiel  Mylius  had  the 
audacity  to  iurnmon  the  citv.  Part  of  the  I  -euch  tioops 
hud  already  croiTed  the  Scheldt,  but,  infteac  ^f  waiting 
for  the  remainder,  they  precipitately  retired  by  Bit  s  to 
Dunkirk,  excepting  a  final!  bodyof  them,  which  Co^o,  ei 
TKouvenot  prevailed  upon  to  halt  at  Ghent.  General 
Maruife  had  lank  the  Ariel  frigate  according  to. PL mou- 
rier's  ioilructions,  after  fending  away  her -malts,  Hgging, 
and  guns,  by  the  canals  to  Dunkirk.  He  had  lUfo  lent 
away  part  of  the  magazines  of  the  garrifon,  but  'a  great 
part  ilill  remained,  and  more  than  80.00  men,  . 

As  the  terror  and  conrufion  which  .before  had  fpread 
among  the  troops  redoubled  on  (he  approach  of  Colonel 
Mylius,  a  council  of  war  was  held,  in  which  it  was 
unanimpuily  decided,  that  it  was  more  prudent  to  fave 
this  part  of  the  army  together  with  the  magazines  and 
other  cifects  belonging  to  the  French  nation,  than  obfti- 
natelv  to  riik  the  lofsof  the  whole. 

It  is  impoflible  for  Dumourier  to  form  a  candid  judg~ 
me.nt  of  •  th.is-  capitulation,  fmc'e  the  rapid  fucceiTion 
of  important  events  that  followed,  prevented,  him 
from  any  perfect  knowledge  of  the  circumftances 
of  the  ga,rrifon.  The  Iinperialifls  are  extremely 
dextrous  in  the  diipofition  and  conduct  of  their  advanced 
guards,  multiplying  them  to  the  eyes  of  an  enemy,  and 
miilea-ding  the  enemy  refpe£ting  their  real  force.  It  is 
alfo  to  be  prefumed,  that  the  French  generals,  emhar- 
railed  and  difconccrted  by  the  diforder  prevailing  among 
the  troops,  imagined  the  whole  Prufiian  and  Dutch 
army  to  be  before  the  place.  No  excufe,  however,  is  to 
be  made  for  thtir  having  furrendered  the  citadel,  which 
was  altogether  independent  of  the  city,  and  in  no  one 
cafe  ought  to  have  been  included  in  that  capitula- 
tion. 

On  the  27th  or  28th  of  March,  the  French  troops 
quitted  Antwerp.  None  of  them  palled  by  Coyrtray, 
and  they  were  not  at  liberty  to  encamp  at  Haerlebeck,  as 
had  been  defigned.  They  entered  the  French  territory 
in  different  bodies,  and  at  different  time?,  and  part  of 

them 


*i*em  were  difp'ofed  of  by  General  Omoran  in  the 
of  Caflel  and  the  lines  of  Dunkirk,  and  the  remain- 
der helped  to  form  the  camp  of  Madelaine,  near 
Lille. 

It  was  not  till  the  29th  that  Dumourief  received  intel- 
ligence of  this  difpcrfion  of  more  than  26,000  men  ot 
his  army,  and  even  then  his  intelligence  was  unaccompa- 
nied by  any  detail*  The  difperfion  of  the  body  of  troops 
tinder  Neuiliy,  and  the  evacuation  of  Mofis,  had  expofed 
his  right,  and  that  of  Coirtray  now  expofed  his  left  to' 
ftill  greater  danger,  which  the  enemy  might  turn,  ap- 
proaching by  the  left  of  the  Schelt,  and  if  he  Jhould  btf 
compelled  to  retreat  before  the  enemy  in  the  preient  dif- 
pofition  of  his  troop?,  he  had  nothing  to  expect  but  to  bef 
completely  routed. 

For  thefe  reaions,  he  refolded  to  raife  the  camp  of 
Tournay  in  the  morning  of  the  cjoth.  He  had  before  this^ 
fent  General  le  Veneur  to  occupy  that  of  ivTaulde.  He 
font  the  army  of  the  North;  by  the  bridge  of  Mortagne, 
to  encamp  in  the  tlrong  "jiofition  of  Brmlle,  which  he 
ordered  to  be  joined  by  tr.rLC  ,'d^cs  to  the  camp.  He 
fent  General  Miaczinfky  with  4000  mrh  to  occupy  ( )r- 
ehies,  to  fecure  a  communication  with  Li!;?,  and  he4 
eftablifhed  his  head  quarters  Xvith  his  park  of  artiliefy  at 
St.  Amand. 

By  the  unexpected  fufrcnder  of  the  citadel  6f  Ant'- 
-verp,  the  garrifons  of  Breda  and  Gertrljyd^nberg  were 
entirely  cutoff  from  all  communication  with  die  army* 
They  amounted  to  near  6000  men,  tint  were  on  the  poini 
of  being  facrificed  -without  the  hope  of  affiilance,  and 
without  any  fervice  to  enfue  to  France.  Dumourier, 
therefore,  fent  orders,  through  the  medium  of  Colonel 
Mack,  to  General  de  Fler?,  and  to  Colonel  Tilly,  who 
commanded  in  thole  tv/o  pLicr.i  to  capitulate,  on  condi- 
tion of  being  at  liberty  to  march  to  France  with  arms 
and  ba£*age.  This  wiis  accordingly  done  ;  and  was  art 
important  iervice  rendered  France,  fince  one  half  of  the 
army  had  already  defer  ted. 

At  this  period  the  fafety  of  the  frontier  towns  in  France 
was  entirely  owing  to  the  foifpenfion  of  arm>  ;  for  had 
the  Imperialifts  preiTed  forward,  fuch  was  the  difordcf 
prevailing  in  the  French  army,  they  muft  have  penetra- 
ted the  frontiers. 

In  the  midft  of  this  chaos  of  things,  and  of  the  difcon- 
tents  and  diiorders  that  refuited  in  the  'French  army,  the, 

Uoopf 


(       221       ) 

troops  never  cenfcd  to  exprefs  an  attachment  to  their 
general,  rendering  juiucc  to  his  eiforts-to  preferve  them 
from  ruin.  The  icar  gu.ard,  and  the  --oopsci"  th~  line 
especially  ,  who  had  always  icj::  him  ihe  Lit  in  every 
retreat,  in  the  day  or  at  night,  and  always  expoled  to 
the  great  dt  danger,  were  moved  with  rei'pcct,  and  even 
cornpaillon  for  the  general)  and  with  extieme  refentment 
againft  his  enemies,  the  Jacobins  and  the  National  Con- 
vention. A  with  for  the  re-eftabliihment  of  a  limited 
Monarchy  was  alrnbft  general  in  the  army.  A  few  of 
the  battalions  of  volunteers  only  dared  openly  to  efpoufc 
the  Republic.  The  cavalry,  and  the  troops  of  the  line 
were  altogether  decided  ;  and  the  artillery, declared  that 
in  every  cafe,  they  would  defend  their  general.  It  was 
openly 'propofed  -to  march  to  Paris,  and  to  overthrow  the 
Anarchitls,  to  whom  the  army  juftiy  attributed  the  whole 
of  their  difgracc  and  misfortunes.  It  being  fa  id  that  the 
general  was  to  be  commanded  to  appear. at  the  bar  of  the 
National  Convention,  their  conftant  language  was,  that 
they  themfelves  would  conduct  the  general  to  Paris,  and 
would  mare  his  fortunes. 

Dumourier  attentively  obferved  this  difppdtion  in  the 
troops,  which  he  faw  was  fupported  by  the  complaints  of 
the  generals,  and  of  the  greater,  part  of  the  other  ofticers. 
Thefe  latter,  feeing  the  generals  under  whom  they  had 
been  conducted  to  victory,  outraged  in  the  Jacobin  Jour- 
nals, accufed  of  treachery,  arrefted,  and  treated  without 
regard  to  decency  or  juftice,  naturally  concluded,  that 
their  own  elevation  to  the  fuperior  ranks,  would  but 
expofe  them  to  the  fame  difafters.  Some  of  the  generals, 
however,  among  whom  was  Dampiejre,  kept  up  a  per- 
fidious correfpondcnce  with  the  leaders  of  the  Anarchills  ; 
and,  hoping  to  fupplant  their  fuperior.s,  by  the  aid  of  the 
prefehi  diforders,  they  loudly  proclaimed  the  fame  doc- 
trines as  their  colleagues  of  Paris,  and  by  their  fa  lie 
infmuations  kept  alive  the  Jacobin  phrenzy  that  infected 
part  of  the  army. 

The  two  parties  were  now  in  the  greated  fermentation, 
and  the  conteft  tended  to  an  iilue  which  could  not  but  be 
prompt  and  violent.  Three  Commiffioners  of  the  Con- 
vention, Lequinio,  Cochon,  and  Bellegarde  were  m 
Valenciennes  ;  thele  already  treated  the  army  and  its 
generals  as  rebels,  would  not  permit  any  communication*  ~ 
H»ct\veen  them  :m<l  I  he  garrifon,  and  ftopt  their  convoys 


of  provifion  and  money*  They  -were  bold  enough  to 
hazard  a  manitefto  againfl  Dumourier,  which  they  fent 
to  the  army,  and  the  garrilon  of  Condc. 

The  garrifon  of  Condc,  confiding  of  four  battalions 
and  a  regiment  of  cavalry,  under  General  Neuilly, 
were  extremely  divided  in  opinion,  but  they  ieemed  to 
incline  to  fupport  Dumourier,  to  whom  General  Neuilly 
was  altogether  attached. 

At  Lille,  the  contell  was  flill  more  marked  and  more 
violent.  The  ComilTioncrs  of  the  Convention,  who  had 
made  this  place  their  point  of  union,  and  the  Jacobin 
Club  inftigated  an  extremely  numerous  populace  againft 
the  higher  rank  of  citizens.  On  the  other  hand  the 
foldiers,  efpccrally  the  troops  of  the  line,  broke  out 
into  tumults,  and  (poke  loudly  in  behalf  of  their  gene- 
ral, and  againft  the  Anarchies.  But  they  were  without 
leaders,  and  their  meafures  were  void  of  plan  and  con- 
duel-  Allrgna'ts  were  allb  fuccefsfuliy  diftributed  among 
thefe  troop's,  and  the  fame  means  were  employed  in  the 
army  under  the  general's  immediate  command,  and  even 
with  thofe  nearciVto  his  perfon. 

The  ComtniiUoners  of  the  Convention  alfo  endeavour- 
ed to  accomplifh  their  defigns  by  airafimation.  On  the 
3 1  ft  of  March,  fix  volunteers,  of  the  third  battalion  of 
La  Manic,  demanded  leave  to  fpeak  to  the  general,  whp 
ordered  them  to  be  introduced.  They  cntexed  with  their 
hats  on,  the  back  part  being  placed  in  the  front,  having 
the  word  Republic  chalked  on  them.  They  made  a  long 
and  fanatical  harangue  to  the  general,  the  purport  of 
which  was,  that  they,  and  many  others  of  their  comrades, 
had  fworn  to  fend  him  to  the  bar  of  the  National  Con- 
vention, or,  in  imitation  of  Brutus,  to  flab  him. 
Dumourier  anfwcred  with  great  compofure  and  gentle- 
nefs,  that  they  were  blinded  by  a  miftaken  zeal  ;  that 
they  could  not  but  perceive  the  unfortunate  condition  of 
France  ;  and  that  the  rage  with  which  remedies  were 
applied,  ferved  only  to  prove  the  Jmpodibility  of  main- 
taining the  republic,  fin  ex:  an  urijuit  and  unrcftrairrec} 
government  could  not  long  e^ift.  While  the  general 
fpoke,  they  approached  with  a  defi^n  of  furrounding 
him,  which,  perhaps,  would  have  been  effed^ed,  but  for 
the  intrepidity  of  the  faithfull  Baptiile,  who  feizcd  upon 
the  forcmolt,  and  culled  the  general's  guard  to  his  aiTilt- 
vance.  The  volunteers  attempted  to  refifl,  but  they  were 

overpowered 


(     "3 

overpowered  ;  and  the  general  not  only  favcd  their  lives 
but  prevented  their  being  ill  treated.  He  contented 
himfelf  with  fecuring  their  pcrfons  in  prifon. 

The  indignation  of  the  army  was  general  ;  and  on 
the  fame  day  the  different  corps  prcfented  adrcflcs  figncd 
by  individuals  of  every  rank,  profeiling  an  inviolable 
attachment  to  their  general  ;  and  the  greater  part  of 
them  expreffing  their  dcfire  of  inarching  to  Paris  to  re- 
eilablifh  the  confutation . 

After  hoftilirieshad  been  thus  corn  me  need  by  the  Com- 
iniflioners  of  the  Convention,  and  after  the  troops  had  thus 
declared  their  .wilhes,  Dumourier  let  about  the  means  of 
making  himfclf  mailer  of  Valenciennes,  Comic,  and 
Lifle  ;  without  which  he  could  ftrike  no  blow  of  impor- 
tance. 

He  now  readily  acknowledges  th.it,  although  he  did 
not  for  a  moment  lofe  Tight  of  his  object,  he  failed  in  ne- 
glecting means  which,  doubtlefs  were  necelFary  at  ihaf 
period  ;  but  which  he  was  induced  to  reject  by  hi*  avcr- 
ion  to  perfidy  and  cruelty.  He  relied  too  confidently 
on  the  ftrcngthof  his  legitimate  means,  and  on  the  good 
faith  and  conviction  of  his  troops  ;  and  he  neither  coun- 
teracted his  enemies  by  corruption,  nor deftroyed  the  more 
inveterate  of  them  when  it  was  in  his  power.  A  meafure 
was  pi'opofed  to  him  that  was  probably  eflenlial  to  his  in- 
tercft.  It  was  to  ailcmblc  the  troops  of  the  line  in  a  camp 
apart  from  the  reft,  and  to  difarm  and  difband  the  national 
guard.  But  this  could  not  be  oecomplifhed  without  a 
dreadful  efiiifion  of  blood  ;  fur  there  had  long  cxifted  an 
extreme  animolity  between  the  national  guards,  and  the 
troops  of  the  line.  There  were  many  of  the  battalions 
of  national  giurd.s,  who  had  ferved  under  his  command 
with  great  valour,  and  had  lately  p  re  fen  ted  addreil'cs  to 
him,  couched  in  loyal  and  firong  terms  ;  and  he  coujd 
not  prevail  on  himfclf  to  recompence  them  \\\ih  dilgrace, 
or  perhaps,  with  death.  And,  if  he  Ihould  make  excep- 
tions in  the  execution  of  .the  plan,  thole  might  include 
difg'iifed  unarcljifts  ;  and  he  could  no  longer  rely  with 
fafciy  on  his  troops. 

HiOory  prefents  no  example  of  opinion  having  agita- 
ted the  paifinns  of  men  to  fo  cxceflive  a  degree,  of  having 
fo  greatly  disfigured  their  characters,  and  having  fo  com- 
pletely bereaved  them  of  all  the  iocial  aiicCtions,  as  in  the 
Vr.:nch  revolution.  The  love  of  liberty  was  a  noble 

Gg    2 


(     "4    ] 

Sadie u  in  1789.  It  became  licentious  in  1790  and  1791. 
y  the  fuccciTes  of  the  year  1792,  the  love  of  freer} crn, 
infteaii  of  being  exalied  into  heroifm,  Regenerated  into  a 
blind,  infolent,  and  barbarous  phrenzy  ;  and  the  period 
that  v\'e  are  reviewing  in  thefe  memoirs  added  to  the  fero- 
city of  its  fpirit. 

The  ftruggle  for  afcendancy  was  not  equal  between 
Dumourier  and  the  Jacobins.  His  means  were  enfeebled 
by  his  fcruples.  The  crimes  of  the  Jacobins  v.-ere  not  to 
be  crufhed  but  by  crimes  more  incredible  than  thefe  ; 
corruption  was  to  be  oppofed  by  corruption,  and  treachery 
and  cruelty  to  the  attrocities  and  horrors  of  the  Jacobins, 
The  feel;  of  the  Jacobins  was  not  to  be  annihilated  but  by 
a  rnonfler  more  frightful  than  itfelf;  or  by  a  foreign 
fword.  And  hence  the  fequel  of  this  hiftory  is  no  more 
than  an  account  of  the  miftakes  of  Dumourier  ;  who  em- 
braced the  incompatible  defigns  of  preferring  his  own 
e'fteem,  and  purging  the  nation  of  her  crimes.  In  a  con- 
venation  he  had  formerly  held  at  Louvain  with  Pan  ton 
and  La  Croix,  on  a  propoial  made  bv  thofe  Comniimbherfc 
relative  to  a  conduct  they  wilfoed  the  general  to  adopt  in 
Belgium,  by  no  means  very  reputable  ;  the  general  ob- 
ierved  (and  lie  has  fince  repeated  the  obfervation  to  Ca- 
inus)  that  he  would  never  commit  an  aclion  which  he  re- 
garded as  a  crime,  even  for  the  falvation  of  his  country. 
He  hasfince  been  told  that  Danton  faid  General  Dumou- 
rier wants  energy  ;  his  mind  has  never  rifcn  to  the  hue 
revolutionary  pitch.  The  revolutionary  pitch  reft  after 
that  period  ;  and,  Dumourier,  who  has  not  changed, 
could  not  but  fail  in  the  ftruggle,  fince  to  fucceed  it  was 
vjecciiaryto  difplay  crimes  greater  than  thofe  with  which 
lie  had  to  combat. 

Dumourier  fent  orders  to  General  Miaczinfky,  who  was 
al-  Orchies  to  march  with  his  divifion  to  Lifle  ,-  to  arreft 
the  Cominilnoners  of  the  Convention,  and  the  leaders  of 
the  clubs  ;  to  proceed  from  thence  to  Douay  and  remove 
General  Moreton  from  the  command  of  that  town  ;  to  pro- 
claim there  and  at  Lille  the  unanimous  resolution  of  the 
zirmv  to  reftore  the  Conllitution  :  and  afterward  to  pro- 
ceed by  Cambray  to  Peronne,  where  be  was  to  take  r-cft. 
This  unfortunate  General  did  not  fiffrjciehtly  perceive 
the  importance  of  his  charge.  He  fpoke  of  it  to  various 
perfons,and  among  the  reft  to  St,  Geurge,  the  celebrated 
Mulatto,  Colonel  of  a  repfm'.ent  of  Huflars,  who  betravcd 
the  general  aiui  drew  him  into  Liile  \vith  a  very  fniall  ef- 

coit 


(     "5     .) 

covt.  The  moment  Miaczir<fly  entered  the  town,  the 
gates  were  fhut  upon  him.  lie  was  arrefted,  conducted 
to  Paris,  and  'brought  to  the.  fcafrbld.  This  officer  was  a 
native  of  Poland,  and  was  one  of  the  chiefs  of  the  confede- 
ration>.,  at  the  time  that  Dumourier  was  charged  by  the 
court  of  France  to  direct  its  operations.  Miaczinfky  had 
been  made  pri toner  in  an  engagement  with  the  Ruffians  ; 
and  afterward,  claiming  an  indemnity  from  France,  in 
which  the  general  could  not  find  means  to  ferve  him,  he 
had  obtained  for  him  the  rank  of  major-general,  and  per- 
miffion  to  raife  a  free  corps,  and  had  afterward  employed 
him  with  great  utility  in  France  and  the  army.  Miac- 
zinfky, brave  in  war,  did  not  difplay  the  fame  courage 
in  his  perfonal  defence  when  he  was  taken,  nor  at  his 
death.  He  accufed  Dumourier  of  various  crimes  againlt 
the  nation  ;  and  even  of  fome  grofs  frauds,  that  were  no 
doubt  fuggefted  to  him  by  the  enemies  of  Dumourier.  He 
alfo  accufed  La  Croix,  which  was  the  caule  of  his  ruin. 

Miaczinfky 's  troops,  after  they  were  quitted  by  that 
officer,  wandered  on  the  Glacis  of  Liilc,  into  which 
place  the  garnfon  would  notadmit  them*  Dumourier,  re- 
ceiving intelligence  of  this,  fent  one  of  his  aids-de-camp, 
Colonel  Philip  de  Vaux,  to  put  himfelfat  their  head,  and 
to  conduct  them  to  Orchies  and  Douay.  DC  Vaux  was 
arrefted  through  the  treachery  of  a  brother  officer,  taken 
to  Paris,  and  executed.  He  died  with  great  courage  ard 
conftancy. 

Philip clc  Vaux  was  born  at  BrufTels,  had  ferved  In  Au~ 
flria,  and  had  afterward  taken  part  agalnfl  the  Frnperor 
in  the  revolution  of  his  own  country.  Durnor.rier  had 
known  him  at  Paris,  and  appointed  him  his  aid-de-ramp. 
He  was  a  man  of  capacity,  of  great  courage,  and  of  aii 
exalted  and  feeling  mind.  In  fine,  he  poflfe  fifed  the  qua- 
lities neceiTary  to  make  a  general  ofiicer. 

The  garrifonof  Valenciennes  wus  commanded  by  Ma- 
jor-General Ferrano,  whom  Dumonricr  had  railed  to  the 
rank  of  Colonel,  and  afterward  to  that  of  major-general  ; 
and  whom  he  believed  to  be  attached  to  his  intcidts.  Tins 
officer  wa-;  of  an  age  not  very  liable  to  be  heated  with 
opinions  ;  and,  till  this  period,  had  appeared  to  be  u-ell 
informed  and  moderate.  Hut  char^clers  moulder  away 
bo  fore  opinion-;,  and  Ferrand  became  one  of  the  moll  in- 
tern penite  of  UinnouiJ.-is  acciiior^.  v-J  o'n'c-df  the  tirmeit 
fupporters  of  the  anarrhiih. 

The 


The  grand  provoft  of  the  army,  named  rEdiyer,  de- 
manded of  Dumourier  as  a  favour,  the  charge  ofarrcfting 
the  Deputies  at  Valenciennes.  He  was  no  fooner  in  that 
<:ity,  than  he  became  their  confident,  and  inftrument  :  al- 
though by  a  ftrange  accident  he  perifhed  afterward  on  the 
fcafibl-d.  While  he  was  in  Valenciennes,  he  had  written 
a  circurnftantial  letter  to  the  general,  iefpec~ting  the  ar- 
rangements he  had  made  for  arrcfting  the  deputies,  and 
this  letter  was  found  in  the  pocket  of  the  general's  great- 
coat on  the  4th  of  .April. 

Thcfe  two  men,  Ferrand  and  J'Ecuyer,  undermined  the 
general's  plan  for  making  himfelf  mafter  of  Valenciennes  ; 
thefe  being  at  firft  confidentially  communicated  to  them; 
snd  they  effected  an  entire  change  in  the  difpoiition  of  the 
troops  which  he  had  contrived  to  fend  there. 

Dumourier's  defign  on  Lille  and  Valenciennes,  being 
thus  fuddenlv  defeated,  lie  had  no  other  refource  than  to 
make  himfelf  mafter  of  Conde.  The  fituation  of  the  ar- 
my, on  the  extreme  frontier  of  Fiance,  was  become  alto- 
gether embarraffing.  The  army  depending  upon  the 
itrong  towns  for  fubfiftcncc,  Dumourier  was  compelled  ei- 
ther to  dilband  them,  or  to  join  the  Imperialills,  unlefs  he 
could  obtain  pofiefiion  of  one  of  the  fhong  towns.  The 
firft  of  thcfe  rncafurcs  would  have  deprived  him  of  all  re- 
fource, and  given  a  decifive  victory  to  the  anarchifts.  The 
fecond  was  repugnant  to  the  feelings  of  the  general,  and 
the  troops,  infpircd  by  the  laudable  principle  of  national 
honour  ;  and  he  could  not  have  obtained  the  univerfal 
confent  of  his  army  to  this  mcafure,  fmcc  the  opinions  of 
the  troops  were  divided,  and  fmce  the  indefatigable  in- 
tritnJCF  of  the  Jacobins  had  wrought  fuch  a  change  in  the 
(Hl'potition  of  the  foldiery.  And  the  latter  was  impracti- 
cable, became  the  General  had  no  artillery  to  undertake 
a  fiege  ;  his  artillery  being  fent  to  Lilie  when  he  retreated 
from  Belgium.  The  third  of  thcfe  meafurcs  alfo,  muft 
liave  produced  a  civil  war.  A  regular  fiege  would  have 
demanded  great  length  of  time,  during  which  the  foldicry 
would  have  made  the  fame  reflections  that  operated  on  the 
mind  of  Dumouner,  and  which  continually  rcjftratncd 
'  him  in  the  plans  that  feemecl  neceflary  to  his  object :  thcfe 
reflections  regarded  the  horror  of  feeing  Frenchmen  com*, 
bat  each  other,  having  foreigners  for  fpedators,  to  whorn 
buth  parties  would  have  become  a  prey,  when  they  (houlq 
be  mutually  incapable uf  further  rcfiftaocc, 

Dumourier 


(    "7    > 

Dumourier  therefore  thought  of  leading  his  army  to  Pa- 
ris. But  he  could  fuccced  in  that,  only  in  having  a  ma- 
jority of  opinions  with  him.  Every  other  expedient  was 
at  once  painful  and  uncertain,  Every  day,  every  hour  di- 
minimed  his  hope.  He  beheld  his  Situation,  without  de- 
ceiving himfelf,  and  being  fubdued  by  his  difficulties.  lie 
regarded  them  under  every  afpecl,  and  he  cannot  now  re- 
collect the  Grit  five  days  of  April  without  horror. 


C  II  A  P.     XII. 


Arrefl  of tie  Commijfioners  of  the  Convention,  Camus,  La 
Marque,  Bancal,  and  Quinettc  ;  and  of  Beurnonvilk, 
MiniJlcrofWar. 

ON  the  firfl  of  April,  General  Dumourier,  in  order  to 
be  nearer  his  army,  and  to  favour  a  project  of  furprifing 
Valenciennes,  (which  had  been  propofed  to  him,  and 
which  failed  by  the  mifeonduct  of  the  general  officer  who 
was  charged  with  its  execution, ^  removed  his  head  quar- 
ters from  the  city  of  St.  Amand  to  the  fuburbs  ;  where 
was  Rationed  a  chofen  body  of  cavalry,  and  where  he  was 
alio  nearer  Conde.  Various  circurnftanc«s  had  prevented 
his  proceeding  in  the  firft  inftancc  to  the  latter  city,  but  in 
that  neglect  he  committed  a  great  error,  and  perhaps  it 
was  the  caufe  of  cornpleating  the  ruin  of  his  aftairs.  Per- 
haps it  had  been  better  if  he  had  at  iirft  eftablilhed  his  head 
quarters  at  Conde  ;  but  the  events  that  pafled  in  that  pe- 
riod were  fo  Hidden  and  unforefeen,  he  was  fo  effectually 
imit  out  from  intelligence,  and  was  fo  complcatly  igno- 
rant of  all  that  paffed  beyond  Valenciennes  and  Liilc,  and 
he  was  fo  entirely  occupied  in  obferving  and  moulding 
Co  his  piirpole  the  difpoiitions  of  his  army,  that  to  blame 
or  jtiflify  the  conduct  into  which  he  was  driven  by  this 
ftrong  chain  of  circumftances,  it  i$  neceffary  to  have  been 
inhislituation. 

Perhaps  even  it  is  well  for  him  that  he  did  not  make  him- 
felf matter  of  Conde,  for  if  the  inconftancy  of  the  French 
character  had  then  caufed  a  ftrong  defection  in  his  army, 
being  in  the  centre  of  that  ftrong  city,  he  had  been  de- 
Mvered  up  to  his  enemies,  or  maflacred  by  his  own  troops. 

The 


(     "3     ) 

The  corn  miffioners  of  fhcCcnvertion  availed  themfelvcs 
of  Duinourier'shefitationin  this refpecl to  vifitConde,  and 
to  iiTue  proclamations,  circulate  affignats,  and  fill  the  town 
with  emiflaries  of  the  Jacobins,  The  fixth  regiment  of 
infantry,  the  only  corps  of  troops  of  the  line  which  had 
difcovered  a  decided  fpirit  of  Jacobiniim,  and  a  battalion 
of  National  Guards  of  Veriailles,  (Truck  terror  into  the 
mind  of  General  Neuilly,  who  thenceforward  was  no 
longer  mailer  of  the  place  ;  although  he  perfuaded  him- 
felf  that  he  was,  and  continued  to  aflert  it  to  Dumourier, 
who  too  long  relied  on  his  ill  founded  confidence. 

In  this  battalion  of  Verfailles,  was  a  captain  of  the 
artillery  company,  named  Le  Cointre,  fon  of  the  cele- 
brated deputy  of  that,  name  of  Versailles.  This  young 
man  declaimed  vehemently  againft  the  advocates  of  the 
conftitution  ;  and,  being  rudely  handled  on  that  account 
by  fome  dragoon  officers,  he  quitted"  the  garrifon  to  lay 
his  complaims  before  Dumourier,,  who  caufed  him  to  be 
arrefted,  that  he  might  have  an  hoftage  for  himfelf,  in 
the  perion  of  the  fon  of  one  of  the  mod  furious  among 
the  members  of  the  Mountain.  •  Dumourier  alfo  caufed 
to  be  arrefted  a  lieutenant-colonel,  an  officer  belonging  to 
the  ftaff  of  the  army  ,  who  declaimed  openly  and  ve- 
hemently again  ft  him  *.  and  having  no  fecure  place  in 
which  he  could  keep  thefe  prifoners,  he  lent  them  toge- 
ther with  the  fix  volunteers,  who  had  attempted  to 
aflaffinate  him,  to  Tourr.ay  ;  requeuing  General  Clair- 
fait  to  keep  them  as  hoftagcs  in  the  citadel. 

Lieutenant-General  le  Veneur,  who  at  the  time  of 
La  Fayette's  deferiion  had  followed  that  officer,  and  who 
was  indebted  to  Dumourier  for  his  pardon,  and  his  re- 
eftablifhment  in  his  rank,  now  came  to  Dumourier  to  demand 
permiffion  to  retire  from  the  army,  on  the  pretence  of 
being  in  an  ill  ftate  of  health.  His  objecl  was,  to  ob- 
tain the  command  of  the  army  of  the  Anarchifts.  Du- 
mourier granted  him  permiffion  to  retire,  and  alfo  to  a 
general  named  Stetenhorfen,  a  foreigner  whom  Dumou- 
rier had  made  major-general.  Dampierre  was  at  Quef- 
noy.  with  his  divilion,  and  carried  on  a  treaty  wtth  the 
commiiTioners  of  the  Convention,  as  did  alfo  General 
Chancel,  who  was  cantoned  at  Frefnes.  And  their 
example  was  followed  by  General  Rollers,  and  General 
Kermorvan,  who  had  the  command  of  the  Belgians  in 
the  camp  of  Bruille. 

Dumourier 


Dumouricr  wtis  the  more  affccled  by  thefe  inftances  of 
treachery,  becauie  all  thofc  officers  had  been  indebted 
to  him  for  their  rank,  had  complained  more  loudly  than 
any  others  againft  the  Anarchifts,  and  had  prelled  with 
more  feerning  impatience  the  execution  of  his  defign  of 
reftoring  order*  Excepting  Dampierre  who  died  in  the 
command  of  the  army,  and  Chancel  who  replaced 
Neuilly  at  Conde,  and  was  obliged  to  furrender  after  a 
long  fiege,  thefe  officers  have  been  punifhed  for  their  in- 
gratitude, by  the  fufpicions  and  difdain  of  their  patrons, 
and  the  lofs  of  their  employments.  This  unhappy  ex- 
ample of  treachery  of  fuperior  officers,  who  were  in 
appearance  mod  attached  to  the  caufe  of  the  general, 
could  not  fail  to  produce  a  pernicious  effect  on  the 
foldiery,  and  add  flrength  to  the  party  of  the 
Jacobins. 

Dumourier  now  few  that  he  could  no  longer  hope  to 
Vnarch  to  Paris  without  oppofition  from  his  army,  as  the  ' 
temper  of  his  troops  at  firit  feemed  to  promife.  He  faw 
that  he  would  have  to  commence  by  a  civil  war,  which 
he  had  always  thought  of  with  repugnance  ;  and  to  com- 
pel one  part  of  his  troops  to  combat  the  other,  a  dreadful 
extremity  for  a  general  who  regarded  his  foldiers  as  his 
children,  and  who  had  never  conducted  them  but  by 
his  kindnefs,  and  the  influence  of  a  mutual  affec- 
tion. 

Another  circumftance  rendered  him  timid,  and  de- 
prived all  his  meafures  of  energy.  This  was,  the  danger 
of  the  prifoners  in  the  temple.  It  was  to  be  feared  that 
the  JaCobins  would  inftantly  facrifice  the  unfortunate 
victims,  whom  they  already  treated  too  unworthily  to 
afford  any  hope  that  they  would  fpare  them  in  the  firft. 
moments  of  their  fear  and  refcntment.  Had  thofe  pri- 
foners been  facrificed  in  confequence  of  Dumourier's 
march  to  Paris,  he  would  have  incurred  the  reproaches 
of  Europe,  and  hiftory  would  have  configned  him  to 
infamy  ;  while  he  would  have  prepared  for  himfelf  an 
anguilh,  that  would  have  endured  through  the  remainder 
of  his  life. 

General  Dnmourier  from  the  time  of  his  being  at 
Tournay,  inceflantly  meditated  on  this  dreadful  circum- 
ftance. Befide  General  Valence,  the  Duke  de  Chartresj 
and  General  Thouvenot,  who  partook  of  his  councils, 
Me  alfo  confided  his  thoughts  on  this  fubject  to  Colonel 
Mont  joy,  and  Colonel  Nordrnann,  colonel  of  the  regi- 

H  h  racnt 


merit  of   Berchiny.       He   propofed  to   fend  thofe  two 
•rs   with  three  hundred  huflfars  to  Paris,  on  the  pre- 
tOfct  of  arrefting  deferters,    and    fending   them  back   ta 
.irnv.     He  meant  to  have   given  them   difpatches   to 
the    ininiiler  of   v/ar,  which   would    have   juiiified   their 
^;  to   Paris,    and  would  have  given  it  a  natural  air, 
i  i  the  cafe  of   their  being  interrogated.       They   were  to 
proceed   as  covertly  as  poffible  by  the  foreft  of  Bondy  ; 
r.nd   afterward,  reaching  the  priibn  by  the  Boule\ard  of 
the  temple,  were  to  force  the  guard,  making  falfe  attacks 
in  fevcral  different  points,     carry  off  the  four   illufhious 
prlibners,    placing  each  of  them  behind  an  huflar,    and 
having  a  voiture   ready   in   the   foreft,    to   puih  foiward 
with   the   utmoft  fneed   to    Pont  St.    Maxence,    where 
M-iother   body    of    cavalry  were    to   be    pofted    to   meet 
i  hem. 

But   to   this  end  it  was  necefTary  to  be  in  poflefilon  of 
c' tlier  Valenciennes,    or  Lille  ;    and  the  circumflances 
that  followed   defeated   the   project,  to  which  thofe  two 
worthy  officers  whom  we  have  juft  named,    were  altoge- 
t  devoted.     There  remained  no  means  of  faving  the 
iiluilrious-  prifcneis  from  the  rage  of  the  Jacobins.       To 
•i    a   confpH^scy   in   Paris  demanded   time,    and   the 
emigrants  had  ib  ill  fucceeded  in  attempts  of  that  nature, 
that  it  hud   been    madnefs  in  the  general  to  have  placed 
/   confidence   in   fuch  a  plan.        Deprived  then  of  all 
1    of    delivering   the   prifoners,  the  general   had   no 
,T  refource   in  their  behalf,  than  to  poffefs  himfelf  of 
/.^.ges  for   their  fafety.       Hence   he   had   fo  anxioufly 
fought  to  feize  upon  the  Commiilioners  of    the    Conven- 
tion at  Lille,    and   Valenciennes  ;     aud  he  was  now  de- 
termined to  detain  fuch  as  might  put   themfelves  into  his 
pcvver. 

On  the  morning  of  the  ^th  of  April,  a  captain  of 
Qnlicurs,  whom  Dumourier  had  polled  at  Pont-a- 
ivlarque,  on  the  road  between  Lifle,  and  Douav,  with 
fifteen  trufty  and  refolute  men  under  his  command,  with 
orders  to  arrell  any  couriers,  but  above  all  the  Commif- 
fioners  of  the  Convention,  if  they  took  the  road  from 
Lific.  to  Paris,  brought  him  advice  that  Bcurnonville  the 
jT.iniiler  of  war  had  palled  them  on  the  road  to  Lifle, 
and'  had  informed  him  (the  captain  of  Chaflcurs)  that 
he  ihould  afterward  proceed  to  the  head  quarters  of  his 
Hend  General  Dumoufier.  The  intimacy  that  fubllired 
etween  this  minifler  and  the  General  was  known. 

Dumourisr 


(     23'     ) 

Dumourier  was  aftonifhed  that  he  had  received  no  cy  :  r~ 
cr  from  Bcurnonville,  nor  any  manner  of  advice  reipc.x- 
ing    his   journey,    at  a  time   when  the  General  could  cb 
longer  doubt  of   his  being   profcribed,    and   when    r'. 
Rubicon  was  already  patted.       This  was  the  firft  and  to- 
only   intimation  which   Dumourier  received   to   pr. 
him  for  the  important  fcene  that  followed. 

About  four  o'clock  in  the  evening,  two  couriers  c  rrv? 
to  the  General  to  announce  the  arrival  of  the  miniuer  of 
war  with  four  commiffioners  of  the  National  Convention, 
Terror  and  defpair  were  painted  on  the   countenance  o? 
thiifc  meiTengers.     Interrogated  by  fome  of  the  ftarFci'ii- 
cers  refpefting  the  caufe,  they  did  not  hefitate  to  fay  t-  ;it 
General  Dumourier  was  utterly  loft,  that  the  comniiii;- 
oners  came  to  conducl  him  to  the  bar  of  the  Conve;, 
in  virtue  of  a  decree,   but  that  the   general  would  n 
reach   Paris,   fmce  aiTaffins  were  planted  on  the  re:1 
bands  of  twenty  and  thirty,  at  Gournay,  Rpye,  and  Se'fii 
lis,  in  order  to  murder  him.     They  even  indicated   \:\   ; 
thefeaflafTIns  were,  being  foldiers  belonging  to  two  ir.v, 
regiments,  called  the"*Hu(Tars  and  dragoons  of  the   If  re- 
public.    The  general  had  broken  a  Iquadron  of  the  I 
iars,  for  having  refilled   to  obey  their  colonel,  and 
lent  them   back  to   France    on  foot  a^nd   without  ;: 
which  the  Jacobins  had  reftored  them  in   order  to  alT.::-* 
finale  their  general.     The  regiment  of  dragoons  cor.i 
of  men  who  had  committed  numerous   crimes  at   Pa?%; 
from  which  they  had  been  fent  with  great  difficult-/   f  > 
join   the    army,   where   they   attempted   to   repeat  t!  •.  •  • 
crimes.  Their  conduct  was  cowardly  and  attrocious,  ,:•    ' 
the  general  was  compelled   to  act  with  fe verity  to: 
them  on  his  retreat  from   the  Netherlands.     They  .::",    • 
ward  dcfertsd  and  fled  to  Paris,  \vhen  they  were  no\v 
patched  to  be  the  accomplices  of  the  liuilar^. 

Immediately   afterward  the  minifter  of  war  nnn 
followed  by  the  four  commilTioner,  who  were  C:i, 
Tvlirque,  Bancal,  and  Qiiinettc.  -   The  minider  ; 
bracino;  the  general  with  expredions  natural  to  (he'r 
tviai  attaciim^nt,    informed    him"  that  the    com»i 
c'une  to  notify  to  the  general  a  decree   of  the    ' 
Convention.     General  Valence   was  already   wi 
mourier,  and  the  reft  of  the  ftaff  officers  now  c;-  \ 
the  apartment.     Partaking  of  the  opinions  of  th, 
rul  as  they  hud  partaken  of  his  fatigues,  dangers,  vkio  -;;    ! 

, 

H  h  3 


$nd  defeats,  his  fate  was  not  to  be  feparated  from  theirs  ; 
end  indignation  rather  that  inquietude  was  exprefied  in 
their  looks.  Dumouiier  Taw  that  this  temper  of  mind 
tnicht  break  out  into  violent  confequences,  wnicH«induced 
him  the  more  to  preferve  the  compofure  \vith  which  he 
was  determined  to  acl  in  this  critical  moment. 

Dumourier  would  be  unjuft  if  he  did  not  offer  the  ho- 
range  of  his  efteein  and  gratitude,  to  thofe  generous  men, 
who  in  the  midft  of  his  difgraces  preferred  the  conftancy 
of  their  Friendfhip  to  him, and  their  attachment  to  princi- 
ple, by  facrificing  emolument  and  hone^v  to  follow  him 
in  his  retreat.  Nor  can  he  forbear  here  to  record  the 
•magnanimity  of  General  Valence,  who  being  offered  the 
command  of  the  Armies  on  condition  of  arrefting  Du- 
mourier,  not  only  fpurned  at  the  offer  without  hefitation, 
but  concealed  the  dangerous  temptations  laid  before  him 
by  the  commiiliancrs  of  the  Convention  from  the  know- 
ledge of  Dumouricr. 

Camus  fpoke  for  the  members  of  this  deputation.  In 
a  manner  that  exprefled  fome  degree  of  irrefolution,  he 
requeued  the  general  to  go  into  another  room  with  the 
deputies,  and  minifter  of  war,  in  order  to  hear  a  decree  of 
the  Convention  refpecting  him.  The  general  anfwered, 
that  as  all  his  actions  had  ever  been  public,  and  as  the 
fubjecr  of  a  decree  palled  by  feven  hundred  perfons  could 
be  no  myftery,  he  faw  no  reafon  for  complying  with  the 
requeft,  and  that  the  officers  who  were  prefent  ought  to  be 
witneffes  of  whatever  mould  pafs  in  this  interview.  JBeuiv 
nonville,  however,  as  well  as  the  deputies,  urged  the  rc- 
qucfi  with  fuch  appearance  of  refpect  that  the  General 
went  with  them  into  an  inner  room,  but  his  fblT officers 
would  not  permit  the  door  to  be  clpfed,  and  General  Va-r 
Jence  entered  the  room  with  him. 

Camus  preferred  the  decree  to  Dumourier  ;  who,  hav- 
ing read  it  with  perfect  compolure,  returned  it,  and  ob- 
ferved,  that  forbearing  within  certain  limits  to  condemn 
a  decifion  of  the  National  Convention,  he  could  not  but 
iudge  this  order  to  be  untimely,  iince  the  army  was 
difor^.int/.ed  and  difcontented,  and  fince  his  quitting  it 
in  that  condition  would  be  followed  by  its  total  diOolution  ; 
that  i.t' would  be  prudent  to  fufpcnd  the  execution  of  the 
ik-.Tce,  till  he  fhould  have  reftorcd  the  army  to  its  proper 
footing,  when  he  would  be  ready  to  render  an  account  of 
his'rondr.ct  ;  and  when  it  mieht  be  decided  whether  cii> 
es  required  or  permitted  his  appearance  at  Paris; 

that 


that  he  read  in  that  decree,  an  article  empowering  the 
Cornmiflioners  to  fufpend  him  from  his  functions  and  ap- 
point another  General,  in  the  cafe  of  his  difobeying  the 
order  ;  that  the  Convention  having  charged  them  with  a 
commiflion  including  fuch  fcverity  toward  the  general, 
and  of  fo  delicate  a  nature  with  refpc6l  to  themfelves,  had 
certainly  relied  no  lefs  on  their  prudence  than  on  their 
firmncfs,  that  therefore  he  would  throw  himfelf  on  their 
difcretion,  and  would  not  pofitively  refufe  obedience,  but 
merely  demand  a  delay  in  the  execution  of  their  order  : 
that,  in  fine,  being  now  judges  of  all  the  circumftances, 
they  could  eafily  refolve  on  the  conduct  that  became 
them,  and  if  they  were  determined  upon  fufpcnding  him, 
he  would  meet  them  halfway,  by  himfelf  offering  his  re- 
fignation  to  them,  which  he  had  fo  often  tendered  during 
the  laft  three  months  to  the  Convention. 

Camus  replied  that  the  deputies  had  no  authority  to  re- 
ceive the  General's  refignation  ;  and  then  fa\d,But  if  your 
refignation  were  accepted  of,  what  would  be  your  conduct 
afterwards  ?  I  Jhould  aft  as  became  me,  the  General  an- 
iwered  ;  but  I  have  no  hefitation  in  declaring  to  you,  I 
will  neither  by  going  to  Paris  fubjecl  my f elf  I  o  be  treated 
unworthily  byjanatics,  nor  to  be  condemned  to  death  by  a 
revolutionary  tribunal. — Then  you  do  net  acknowledge  that 
tribunal,  laid  Camus.- — Irecognife  in  it,  replied  the  Gene- 
ral, a  tribunal  of  Blood  and-  of  Crimes,  to  which  I  never 
will  fab  mi  t  while  I  have  a  [word  that  will  not  deceive  me, 
I  moreover  declare,  that  had  I  the  pQwer  Iwould  abolifk  it, 
as  being,  a  dijlionour  to  a  free  Nation. 

The  other  three  deputies  who  were  men  of  much  more 
temper  and  moderation  than  Camus,  perceiving  that  the 
converfhtion  became  intemperate,  interpofcd,  and  en- 
deavoured to  convince  the  general  that  ihc  Convention 
had  no  inimical  deiicns  againft  him  ;  that  he  was  loved  and 
efteemed  bv  every  one,  and  that  his  prcfencc  in  Paris 
would  deflroy  the  calumnies  of  his  enemies  ;  that  his  ab- 
fence  from  the  troops  would  not  lie  long,  and  that  the  de- 
puties and  minider  of  war  would  remain  with  the  a;  my 
till  his  return.  Quinettc  offered  to  accompany  the  gene- 
ral to  Paris  to  be  the  pledge  of  his  fafely,  and  to  return 
with  him,  making  the  moll  fervent  protections  that 
•  he  would  perfonally  expoic  himfeif  to  all  danger  in  the 
general's  defence.  After  this  the  convcrfation  became 
jnore'-cool  and  temperate,  Bancal,  a  man  of  reading  and 

talent, 


talent,  endeavoured  to  win  the  general  by  his  regard  for 
his  name,  and  cited  examples  of  obedience  and  renVna- 
tion  to  the  laws  of  the  Greeks  and  Romans.  Let  us  have 
done  with  mijlakes,  Sir,  laid  the  general  ;  we  degrade  the 
Roman  hi/lory  ;  and  disfigure  the  Roman  virtues,  that 
they  mayfcrve  as  an  excufefor  our  crimes.  The  Romans 
did  not  majfacre  Tarquin.  The  Roman  republic  pcjfc/fed 
a  flable  government  and  ju/l  laws.  They  neither  had  a 
Jacobin  club,  nor  a  revolutionary  tribunal.  We  are  in  a 
jlate  of  anarchy.  Ferocious  men  thirfl  for  my  blood,  and  I 
tell  you  that  I  have  often  acted  the  part  ofDecius  but  never 
will  that  of  Cur  tins. 

The  deputies  allured  Dumourier  that  he  had  formed  an 
unjuft  idea  of  the  Hate  of  Paris  ;  and  that  indeed  he  was 
neither  called  before  the  Jacobins,  nor  the  revolutionary 
tribunal,  but  to  the  Bar  of  the  National  Convention,  and 
that  he  would  fpeedily  return  to  his  poft. 

I  pajfed  the  month  of  January  at  Paris,  faid  the  gene- 
ral, and  fur dy  that  city  has  not  become  more  reafonable 
fmce,  efpecially  in  the  moment  of  public  danger.  I  know 
by  the  moft  authentic  of  your  journals,  that  the  Convention, 
is  governed  by  Marat,  the  Jacobins,  and  the  tumultuous 
tribunes  filled  with  the  emiffaries  of  the  Jacobins.  The 
Convention  has  not  the  power  of  favin^  me  from  the  fury 
cf  thefe  men  ;  and,  if  it  became  the  refpetl  that  I  owe  ?ny- 
jelfto  appear  b  ef or  efuch  judges,  even  my  deportment  would 
provoke  my  death. 

Camus  then  returned  to  his  categorical  qucftion.  You 
refufe  to  obey  the  decree  of  the  Convention  ?  The  general 
anfwered  that  he  had  already  Rated  to  the  deputies  his 
view  of  the  iubjeft.  He  urged  them  to  take  a  moderate 
courfe,and  exhorted  them  to  return  to  Valenciennes,  and 
from  thence  to  make  a  report  to  the  Convention,  fetting 
forth  the  general's  reafons,  and  fupportingthofe  by  {hew- 
ing the  impoffibility  of  taking  the  general  from  his  army 
at  this  inftant,  without  incurring  the  greateil  rifk  of  dif- 
banding  it. 

Dumourier  acknowledges  that,  had  they  yielded  to  thefc 
counfels,  he  mould  have  been  imprudent  enough  to  have 
permitted  their  departure.  The  colleagues  of  Camus  ap- 
peared by  no  means  unwilling  to  liften  to  reafon,  altho' 
on  his  part  he  rudely  repulfed  every  conciliatory  rnealure. 
Call  to  mind,  faid  one  of  them,  that  your  di [obedience  in 
this  cafe- will  caufe  the  ruin  of  the  republic.  Cambon/didin 
y our  tribune  amidjlburfls -of  applauft,  anfwered  the 


(     235 

ral,  that  the  fate  of  the  republic  refls  not  upon  any  ont\man.  I 
have,  btfide,  to  obferve  that  the  name,  of  the.  republic  does 
not  belong  to  us  ;  our  condition  is  ahfolute  anarchy.  / 
fwear  to  you  that  I  have  no  defire  to  elude  enquiry.  I 
promife  you  on  my  honour,  a  pledge  that  is  inviolable  with 
military  men,  that  when  the  nation  /hall  have  a  govern- 
ment, and  laws,  I  will  give  a  faithful  account  of  my  aclions 
and  motives.  I  will  my f elf  demand  a  trial.  At  prefent,  it 
would  be  an  acl  ofinfanity  in  me. 

The  conference  lafted  more  than  two  hours,  but  that 
which  has  been  itated  was  the  exact  purport  of  it.  The 
deputies  retired  into  another  chamber,  to  decide  on  the 
courfe  they  (hould  purfue. 

Dumourier  was  at  this  period  deceived  refpecting  the 
defigns,  and  the  conduct  of  Beurnonville  ;  in  confequence 
of  which  he  has.  made  unjuft  complaints  of  that  minifter.  He 
learned  afterward  from  a  virtuous  and  impartial  man,  that 
Beurnonville  was  conftant  in  his  friendfhip  to  Dumourier  ; 
and  the  grofs  accufations  of  Marat  againft  that  miniiler  is 
an  additional  proof  of  the  fa£t :  and  Dumourier  is  eager 
to  mal\e  this  public  avowal  of  his  error. 

It  is  certain  that  Beurnonville,  being  feveral  times  ap- 
pealed to  by  Dumourier  refpecting  the  conduct  he  would 
obferve  in  this  cafe,  conftantly  faid,  /  cannot  advife. 
you.  You  know  what  it  becomes  you  to  do*  As  foon  as 
thedeputiies  were  withdrawn,  the  general  complained  that 
Beurnonville  had  forborne  to  give  him  intelligence  of  the 
approach  of  this  important  event,  at  the  fame  time  how- 
ever requeuing  him  to  join  the  army,  and  again  to  take 
upon  him  the  command  of  the  advanced  guard.  Beur- 
nonville anfwercd,  /  know  that  I  fhall  fall  a  facrif.ce  to 
tny  enemies,  but  I  have  refolved  to  die  at  my  pofl.  Mv  fi- 
tuation  is  terrifying.  I  fee  you  are  decided,  and  that  ike 
Jl.ep  you  will  take  is  of  the  mofl  defperate  kind.  I  demand 
as  a  favour  at  your  hands  that  you  will  not  feparate  ?ny 
fate  from  that  of  the  deputies. — Be  ajfured  that  I  will  not, 
anfwered  the  General.  Dumourier  was  at  that  moment 
unjuft  to  the  magnanimity  of  Beurnonville,  whom  he  con- 
fidered  to  be  perfidious,  or  at  the  beft  unworthily  carried 
away  by  circumftances.  May  he  receive  fome'confola- 
tion  in  this  juftice  rendered  to  him  by  Dumourier.  And 
may  his  heart,  juilly  offended,  be  open  to  receive  the  at- 
tenement  of  his  friend  ! 

Beurnonville,  Valence,  and  Dumourier  returned  to  the 
officers,  who   impatiently  waited   the  refult  of  this  long 

conference. 


7 

Conference.     But  their  inquietude  was  not  entirely 
pated,  for  the  general  did  not  then  acquaint  them  with  the 
refolution  he  had  taken.     Thelc  officers  have  fmce   told 
him  that,  had  he  contented  to  go  to  Paris,  they  would  have 
prevented  it  by  violence. 

When  the  deputies  firlt  arrived  at  the  general's  quarters, 
the  regiment  of  Berchiny  was  drawn  up  in  the  court  yard; 
and  the  general  had  commanded  Colonel  Nordmann  to 
ielecl:  an  officer  on  whorr.  he  could  rely,  together  with 
thirty  men,artd  to  hold  them  in  readinefs  to  execute  his 
orders.  The  paftlons  hy  which  the  troops  were  agitated 
were  forcibly  expreiled  in  their  looks,  and  the  general 
exerted  his  influence  to  moderate  them. 

In  this  interval  while  the  Deputies  were  deliberating* 
Dumourier  in  walking  met  doctor  Menuret,  iurgeon  to 
the  army,  and  faid  to  him,  Wdl  dcclcr,  what  remedy  jhall 
we  apply  to  this  ivound  ?  Menuret  anfwered  quickly,  the 
fame  as  in  the  preceding  year  at  the  camp  of  Maulde,  a 
grain  of  dif obedience-. 

In  about  an  hour  the  deputies  returned  to  the  General's 
room,  Camus  much  agitated,  faid  harihly,  Citizen  General, 
Are  you  ready  to  obey  the  decree  of  the  National  Convention^ 
and  go  with  us  to  Pans?  The  General  replied,  Not  in  this 
inflant. — Then,  faid  Camus,  /  fufpwd  you  from  your 
functions.  You  no  longer  command  the  armies.  I  forbid 
all  per  [on  s  to  obey  you,  and  command  every  one  to  affifl  in 
arrefting  you.  I  ivill  go  myfelf  and  place  thefcals  on  your 
papers. 

A  murmur  of  indignation  was  heard.  Give  mt  the 
names  of  thoje  perfons,  Camus  cried  out  rudely,  pointing 
to  the  officers  around  him.  They  will  themfelves  give  you 
their  names. — I  have  now  other  employment,  replied  Ca- 
mus, who  no  longer  knew  what  he  faid  :  /  demand  your 
papers. 

Dumourier  now  faw  that  the  emotion  of  his  officers  was 
at  its  height  and  on  the  point  of  producing  fome  rafh 
action.  He  faid,  in  a  firm  tone,  This  is  infuffera bit.  It 
is  time  to  put  an  end  to  Jnch  injolc.nct.  And,  in  the  Ger^- 
inan  language  he  commanded  the  Huflars  to  enter.  He 
then  ordered  the  officer  of  the  hufiurs  to  arreft  the  four  de- 
puties and  the  minifter  of  war,  but  not  to  do  them  any  per- 
ibnai  injury,  and  to  leave  BeurnonvJlle  his  arms. 

Camus  then  faid,  General  Du?nourier,  you  are  about  to 
dfflroy  the  Republic. — Say  rather  it  is  you,  old  madman, 
the  General  replied  to  him* 

They 


(     237    ) 

They  were  conduced  into  another  chamber  ;  and  af- 
ter having  dined,  were  conveyed  in  their  own  carriage  to 
Tournay,  efcorted  by  a  fquadron  of  the  hurL,s  of  Ber- 
chiny.  Dumourier  lent  a  letter  to  General  Ciairfait, 
faying  thaj  he  lent  him  hoftages,  who  would  be  reiponfi- 
blc  for  the  excefles that  might  be  committed  at  Paris.  He 
requeued  General  Clairfait  to  treat  the  minifter  of  war, 
with  more  diftin6Uon  than  the  reft. 

Such  were  the  facls  relative  to  the  arrcft  of  the  Com- 
miflioners  of  the  Convention,  which  was  a  mcafure  forced 
on  the  General  by  circumftances.  As  to  the  a 61  of  de- 
livering them  into  the  hands  of  the  Imperialifts,  it  is  to  be 
remembered  thatDumourier  had  no  fortrefs  in  which  he  could 
keep  them  in  fafety,  and  that  the  Imperialifts  being  as 
deeply  concerned  as  himfelf  in  the  fate  of  the  priibners  of 
the  Temple,  they  could  not  be  placed  in  any  hands  fo 
fure.  They  could  be  detained  merely  as  hoftages,  nor 
was  there  any  danger  to  their  perfonal  fafety,  their  de- 
tention being  fimply  an  act  of  precau:ion  on  the  part  of 
Dumourier.  Befides,  it  is  to  be  recollected,  that  the 
Prince  of  Cobourg  confented  to  ac~t  on  the  footing  of  an 
auxiliary  to  General  Dumourier,  in  this  war,  for  the 
overthrow  of  the  Jacobins,  and  for  the  re-efbbliihment  of 
Ihe  Conllitution.  Hence  thefe  hoftages  were  net  really 
priibners  of  the  Imperiaiifts,  but  thofe  of  General  Du- 
mourier, for  whom  they  held  them.  The  deputies  and 
the  minifter  of  war  were  lent  to  Maeftricht,  where  they 
were  kept  till  a  change  of  circumftances  required  their 
removal. 

This  event  is  one  more  Jnftance  of  the  blind  precipita- 
tion attending  upon  all  the  meafuresofthe  National  Con- 
vention. It  is  to  be  remarked  aim,  that  Camus,  who  went 
poft  from  Liege  to  vote  for  the  death  of  Louis  XVI.  had 
in  this  laft  inftance,  fuddenly  quitted  the  frontier,  to  pro- 
cure the  arreft  of  General  Dumourier,  had  himfelf  dicta- 
ted the  decree,  and  had  demanded  to  be  charged  with  its 
execution.  It  was  therefore  that  he  was  fo  Unrelenting 
during  the  conference,  left  his  colleagues  ftiould  have 
yielded  to  perfuafion,  and  iliould  have  returned  to  Va- 
jencknnes,  as  they  were  counfelleci  to  do  by  the  Ge- 
neral, 


CHAP. 

n 


CHAP.     XIII. 


Attempt  to  affaffmate  General  'Dumourier  on  the  $th  of 
April.  Events  of  the.  tjth  of  April.  Departure  of 
General  Dumourier. 


IMMEDIATELY  after  this  important  event,  Dumou- 
rier fe-nt  Colonel  Montjoye  to  acquaint  Colonel  Mack 
y»'ith  the  circurnftance  ;  and  to  appoint  a  time  and  place, 
for  a  conference  between  the  General  and  Colonel  Mack, 
for  the  purpofe  of  finally  concluding  upon  the  terms  of 
their  treaty,  and  for  fettling  the  meaiures  that  ihould  be 
reciprocally  taken,  according  to  the  conduct  that  ihculd 
be  adopted  by  Dumourier's  army  after  this  decifivc  period. 
Being  informed  that  a  congrefs  of  the  Minifters  of  the 
Combined  Powers  would  fpeedily  be  held  at  Antwerp, 
Dumourier  fent  General  Valence  to  Bruflels  that  he  might 
b.c  nearer  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Congrefs.  During 
the  night,  Dumourier  qomppfed  a  fhort  manifefto,  which 
was  digeited  and  put  into  form  the  following  day.  In 
this,  he  drew  up  a  recital  of  the  facts  of  that  day,  and 
t  xpofed  his  motives  for  arrefting  the  Commiffioners  of  the 
Convention.  He  particularly  infifted  on  the  neceffity  of 
poilcfling  hofhges,  a  regard  for  whofc  fafety  might  pre- 
vent the  crimes  in  which  the  Jacobins  might  otherwife  in- 
dulge on  learning  the  event. 

On  the  morning  of  the  3d  of  April,  the  General  went 

to  the  camp,  and  adure&'d  the  troops  on  the  part  he  had 

I,  who  appeared  to  approve  of  it  with  enthufiafm.  He 

nfrcrward  went  to  St.  Amand,  io  which  place  were  thecorps 

-tillcry,  who  teftified  the  fame  approbation  of  the  Ge- 

.)nducl,  as  the  troops  in   the  camp,  although  the 

:  -;:;tigable  zeal  to  feduce  this  corps  was  employed 

<>y    the  emiilarics  of  the   Jacobins  of  Valenciennes,  and 

illy     .-  f.vo  of  Dumourier's  furcrior  cfficers,  one  of 

«nt-colonel  named  BoubeiS,  had  received 

r  obligations  from  the  General. 

Dumourier 


(     239 

Dumomier  deemed  it  prudent  to  Deep  at  St.  Amai^i,  for 
the  purpofe  of  marking  his  confidence  in  the  troops 
there  ;  and  at  this  place  Colonel  Montjoye  brought  him 
the  ani'wer  of  Colonel  Mack.  It  was  agreed  that  the 
'  following  morning  the  Prince  of  Cobourg,  the  Arch- 
duke Charles,  and  the  Baron  de  Mack  friould  me^t 
General  Dumourier,  between  Boffu  and  Conde,  for  I  he 
purpofe  of  refolving  on  the  movements  cf  the  t\vo 
armies,  and  refpe&ing  the  direction  of  the  fuccours  that 
mould  be  granted  of  imperial  troops  in  the  cafe  of  Du- 
mourier having  cccafion  to  demand  them. 

The  whole  day  of  the  3d  of  .April  paffed  with  as 
great  fuccefs  as  the  General  could  expect.  The  army 
appeared  of  one.  mind,  with  the  exception  of  fome  mur- 
murs that  were  heard  among  fome  of  the  battalions  of 
volunteers  :  and  a  movement  which  the  General  prepared 
to  make  on  the  5th,  was  calculated  to  banifh  the  lecret 
means  of  intrigue.  The  General  defigned  to  take  a 
new  pofition  with  the  greater  part  of  his  army  near 
Orchies,  by  which  means  he  would  remove  the  troops  from 
the  dangerous  neighbourhood  of  Valenciennes ;  would  de- 
ftroy  the  leii'ure  that  belongs  to  a  permanent  camp,  and 
in  which  intrigues  have  the  greateil  fcope  for  action  ; 
andjwould  be  able  to  menace  Liile,  Douay,  and  Bouchain. 
He  acknowledges  that,  had  he  adopted  this  plan  imme- 
diately on  his  entering  the  territory  of  Fiance,  he  would 
probably  have  been  more  fuccefsfui.  But,  at  that  peri- 
od he  relied  on  Valenciennes  and  Conde  ;  and,  perhaps, 
it  is  to  this  error  that  the  fequel  is  to  be  attributed. 

It  is,  however,  difficult  to  determine  at  prefent  what 
would  have  happened  in  that  cafe.  The  character  of  the 
events  of  that  period,  is  fuch  as  no  prudence  could  fore- 
fee  ;  ftnce  they  were  the  fudden  a£is  of  the  caprice  of 
the  people,  which  were  fubjccl  to  no  calculation,  and 
that  followed  each  other  with  a  rapidity  to  which  neither 
forefight  nor  talent  could  oppofe  any  obffocle.  And  it 
mud  be  acknowledged  that  the  principle  which  fo 
abruptly  detached  the  French  foldiers  from  a  General 
whom  they  had  previously  adored,  has  an  afpec} 
that  cannot  be  regarded  without  aprobation.  They  were 
in  arms  for  the  liberty  of  their  country.  They  law 
their  General  treat  with  the  enemy.  They  thought 
thcmfelves  betrayed,  and  they  paired  from  an  efteem  for 
their  General  t?>  the  hatred  of  him.  They  were  not 

informed 


informed  of  the  purport  of  his  negotiations,  nor  of  the 
care  the  General  had  taken  in  that  treaty,  of  the  interests, 
and  honor  of  his  country.  He  had  not  been  able  to  do 
more,  with  refpect  to  his  troops,  than  to  ftate  to  them  in 
general  terms  the  necefTity  of  changing  the  government, 
and  putting  an  end  to  anarchy.  '1  hey  applauded  the 
defign  ;  but,  as  the  General  had  not  aided  his  plan  by 
feduclions,  nor  by  terrors,  the  firft  impreflion  wore  ea- 
fily  away  ;  and  the  activity  of  the  Jacobins,  more  con- 
ftant,  more  vigilant,  and  of  a  nature  much  more  adapted 
to  make  impreffions  upon  them,  was  employed  with  the 
utmoft  fuccefs. 

The  groffeft  calumny  takes  root  fpeedily  in  the  minds 
of  men  ;  but  more  than  in  any  other  time,  in  a  period 
agitated  by  the  dccmon  of  anarchy.  Sufpicion  ripens  m 
times  of  revolution,  The  word  Traitor  being  once  pro- 
nounced, the  multitude  endeavoured  to  find  in  the  defini- 
tion of  this  word,  the  exact  portrait  of  the  General,  whom 
proclamations,  but  fb'U  more  the  baier  intrigues  of  cor- 
ruption, devoted  to  difgrace.  His  prudence  was  now  ar- 
tifice ;  his  love  of  the  public  welfare,  perfonal  ambition  ; 
and  a  filence  dictated  by  his  judgment,  knavery.  One 
quarter  of  an  hour  employed  in  the  concealed  labour  of 
falfehood,  iupported  by  the  powerful  engine  of  corruption, 
effaced  all  fober  reflection  in  men,  whole  condition  pre- 
cludes them  from  much  thought,  and  who  delight  in  bar- 
barous and  bloody  fcencs. 

If  we  coolyexamine  the  progrefs  of  the  revolution,  we 
fhatlfee  that  the  activity  of  the  Guillotine  is  the  motive  of 
the-  high  patriotifm  of  the  French.  The  fpectacle  of  fe- 
vered heads, of  torn  limbs,  carried  in  proceffion  throughout 
Paris  and  other  cities,  has  begotten  a  terror  in  fome,  and 
in  the  reft  an  audacious  barbarity  ;  and  in  both  cafes  has 
produced  a  decifive  effect,  leading  the  former  by  fear, 
and  the  latter  by  the  neceffity  of  providing  for  their  im- 
punity, to  the  endlefs  multiplication  of  murders.  The 
confequence  is  that  the  blood  fpilt  by  this  dreadful  engine 
has  converted  the  nation  into  a  mafs  capable  of  efTeCiing 
aftonifhing  objects. 

Frenchmen,  do  not  be  led  to  fuppofe  that  the  indul- 
gence with  which  Dumourier  judges  you,  is  an  eulogium 
on  your  conduct  !  He  detcfts  your  crimes.  He  regards 
the  fpecies  of  liberty  you  enjoy,  as  wild  and  incompatible 
with  the  interefts  of  fociety  ;  and  he  would  rather  perifli 
on  your  unjuft  and  permanent  fcaffold,  than  be  the  apolo- 
gift  or  partaker  of  your  phrenzy  I 

This 


(    24'     ) 

This  digreftion  faithfully  paints  the  feelings  of  Du- 
mourier's  mind,  at  the  dreadful  period  which  perhaps  de- 
cided the  fate  of  France.  Agitated  by  the  various  paf- 
iions  springing  from  his fituation,  but  fti  11  directed  by  prin- 
ciples, he  refilled  the  temptations  of  ambition.  His  jiftice 
would  not  permit  him  to  be  Cromvve;l,  nor  Monk,  nor 
Coriolanus.  His  power  was  extreme,  but  his  \vifhes  mo- 
derate. And  it  is  now  a  confoiation  to  him  that  he  is 
un/ortunate  rather  thnn  criminal. 

D'imoUrier  received  various  reports  every  ii.fV.int,  re- 
fp^6ti:ig  the  diipofition  of  the  g.irriibn  of  Conde.  Pre- 
vious to  his  moving  with  his  army  to  Orchies,  he  faw  thu 
ncceflity  of  affuringhimfelf  perfectly  of  Conde  ;  in  order 
to  arrange  the  movements  of  the  Imperialifts,  his  treaty 
with  whom  he  dared  not  avow,  till  he  Ihould  have  made  a 
declaration  to  his  troops  of  his  ultimate  views,  and  ihould 
have  commenced  his  march  to  Paris. 

On  the  morning  of  the  4th,  he  departed  from  St.  Amand 
for  Coade.  He  had  left  General  Thouvenot  at  St. 
Amarid,to  regulate  various  details  relative  to  his  projected 
movement,  and  to  watch  the  public  temper.  An  efcort 
of  tifty  huffars,  which  he  ordered  to  attend  him,  not  arriv- 
ing as  he  expected,  and  the  time  for  his  conference  \vith 
the  Prince  of  Coburg  approaching,  he  left  one  of  his  aids- 
de-camp  to  follow  him  with  the  efcort,  and  departed  with 
the  Duke  de  Chartres,  Colonel  Thouvenot,  Colonel  Mont- 
joye,  fome  aids-de-cam-p,  and  eight  ImlTars  ;  forming  to- 
gether a  company  of  about  thirtv  perfons. 

Dumourier  proceeded  towards  Conde  without  any  ap- 
prehenfion,  his  thoughts  being  deeply  engaged  on  fubjcCTS 
far  difiFerentfrom  the  fatal  event  which  was  about  to  arrive, 
and  of  which  he  had  not  the  lead  prefentiment. 

Being  within  half  a  league  of  Conde,  between  Frefnes 
and  Doumet,  he  met  an  officer  difpatcheJ  by  General 
Neuilly,  to  inform  him  that  the  garrifon  were  in  the 
greateft  fermentation,  and  that  it  would  not  be  pru- 
dent for  him  to  enter  the  place,  till  the  commotion  fhould 
have  ended,  whether  it  ihould  be  in  his  favour  or  againft 
him.  Dumourier  lent  back  the  officer  with  an  order  to 
General  Neuilly,  to  fend  the  1 8th  regiment  of  cavalry  to 
Doumet  to  efcort  him. 

He  had  a  little  before  overtaken  a  column  of  three  bat- 
talions of  volun-tee-s  marching;  towards  Conde,  with  their 
baggage  a-nd  trtilk'iy.  Surprifed  at  this  march,  for  which 
he  had  given  no  orders,  he  demanded  of  the  officers  where 

they 


they  were  going.  They  anfwcred  to  Valenciennes,-  2nd 
he  obierved  to  them  that  they  had  turned  their  back  on 
Valenciennes,  and  were  proceeding  to  Conde.  At  this 
time  he  was  in  the  midft  of  them,  and  had  ilopped  by  the  fide 
of  a  ditch  to  fufFer  them  to  pals.  He  does  not  conceive 
why  they  did  not  then  arrefl  him. 

While  they  were  yet  in  light  it  was  that  General  Neu- 
illy's  meflenger  arrived.  Then  comparing  in  his  mind 
the  tumult  of  the  garrifon  of  Conde,  and  the.  unexpected 
march  of  thefe  three  battalions,  he  withdrew  an  hundred 
paces  from  the  high  road,  with  a  clefign  of  entering  the 
iiril  houfe  in  Doumet,  for  the  purpofe  of  writing  a  formal 
order  to  thefe  three  battalions,  to  return  to  the  camp  of 
Bruille,  to  which  they  belonged. 

At  this  inftant,  the  head  of  the  column  fuddenly  quit- 
ted the  high  road,  and  ran  toward  him,  uttering  dreadful 
cries.  He  then  remounted  his  horfe,  and  proceeded  at  a 
moderate  pace  toward  a  broad  ditch,  on  the  other  fide  of 
which  was  a  marmy  ground.  Shouts,  infults,  repioaches, 
and  above  all  the  word  s,//tf/;  ,/?<?/>,  forced  him  to  pafs  the 
ditch.  His  horfe  having  refuied  to  take  it,  he  was  obli- 
ged to  clear  it  on  foot.  He  was  no  fooner  on  the  other 
iide,  than  a  difcharge  of  mufkets  fucceeded  the  former  tu- 
multuous cries.  The  whole  column  was  inftanily  in  mo- 
tion ;  the  head  and  centre  endeavouring  to  overtake  him, 
and  the  rear  quitting  the  high  road  with  equal  rapidity, 
to  get  between  him  and  the  camp  of  Bruille,  which  he  was 
endeavouring  to  regain. 

He  was  now  in  the  moft  imminent  danger.  He  was 
on  foot.  The  Baron  de  Scomberg  threw  himfelf  frcm  his 
horfe,  and  infilled  on  the  general's  mounting,  though  with 
the  certain  facrifice  of  his  own  life.  The  general  refufed. 
At  length  he  mounted  a  horfe  belonging  to  a  domefHc  of 
the  Duke  de  Chartres,  who,  being  extremely  active,  fled 
on  foot.  Dumourier's  horfe  was  taken  and  led  in  tri- 
umph to  Valenciennes.  Two  huffars  were  killed,  as  well 
us  two  of  the  general's  domeftics,  one  of  whom  carried 
his  great  coat.  Colonel  Thouvenot  had  two  horfes  kil- 
led under  him,  and  faved  himfelf  at  laft  by  mounting  be- 
hind the  faithful  Baptiile,  who  alfo  loft  two  horfes.  The 
unfortunate  Cantin,  the  general's  fecretary,  was  taken  and 
perifhed  on  a  fcaffold.  This  young  man  pciTefied  great 
underftanding,  courage,  fidelity,  and  patriotifm.  The 
three  battalions  fired  more  than  ten  thoufand  ball. 

The 


243 

-  The  general,  unable  to  regain  his  camp,  proceeded  a- 
long  the  Scheldt,  and  arrived,  (1111  purfued,  though  not  ib 
clofely,  at  a  ferry,  a  little  diftance  from  the  village  of 
Wihers,  which  was  fituated  on  the  Imperial  territory.  He 
palled  the  river,  accompanied  by  five  other  perfons.  The 
remainder  gained  the  camp  of  Maulde,  through  adilcharge 
of  mufquetry.  As  foon  as  the  general  had  pafled  the  river 
he  proceeded  on  foot  through  a  morafs,  to  a  neighbouring 
houfe  ;  where,  at  firft  he  was  refufed  admittance,  but  on 
announcing  his  name  was  immediately  received  by  the 
worthy  owner.  Thence  he  continued  his  route  on  foot 
to  Bury,  where  was  quartered  a  divifion  of  the  Imperial 
regiment  of  dragoons  of  la  Tour.  Here  he  wrote  to  Co- 
lonel Mack,  and  took  fome  refremment,  of  which  he 
flood  greatly  in  need.  Fie  was  already  joined  by  the 
faithful  Baptifte,  who,  paffing  through  the  whole  of  the 
camp,  had  turned  by  Montagne,  and  had  every  where 
fpread  an  alarm. 

Dumourier  learnt  from  Baptifte,  and  other  perfons  du- 
ring the  courfe  of  the  day,  that  the  defigns  of  the  three 
battalions  were  entirely  unknown  to  the  troops  ;  that,  on 
the  n~\vs  of  their  defertion  and  attempt  to  murder  the  ge- 
neral being  Spread,  the  ftrongeft  indignation  was  expref- 
ed  by  the  foldiery  ;  and  that  the  efcort  of  huflarsand  feme 
other  horfe  had  purfned  the  three  battalions,  who  fudderi-. 
ly  Wheeling,  had  fled  to  Valenciennes.  Baptifte  ddded, 
that  the  whole  camp  was  in  a  (late  of  the  greateil  inquie- 
tude, and  importunately  demanded  the  return  of  the  gene- 
ral. • 

It  was  now  too  late  to  rejoin  his  army,  and  it  was  ne- 
cefTary  that  hefhoald  wait  for  Colonel  Mack,  to  whom  he 
owed  an  account  of  the  reafon  of  his  failing  in  the  appoint 
ment  in  the  morning.  That  officer  arrived  in  the  eve- 
ning ;  and  Dumcurier  having  recited  to  him  the  attempt 
which  had  been  made  on  his  perfon,  obferved,  that  this 
was  the  crime  of  individuals,  which  far  from  corrupting 
the  difpofition  of  his  troops,  would  neceflarily  ftrengthen 
their  attachment  to  their  General,  and  deftroy  all  their 
remaining  connection  with  the  anarchies  ;  that  confequent- 
Iv,  far  from  being  clifcouraged,  his  defign  was  to  return  to 
his  camp  by  day-break  the  following  morning,  to  put  him- 
felf  at  the  head  of  his  foldiers  who  loudly  demanded  his 
return,  and  to  purfue  his  plan  openly  and  with  the  utmoll 
vigour. 

Colonel 


(    244    ) 

Colonel  Mack,  to  whom  the  m  Hilary  virtues  were  fa- 
miliar, has  firce  acknowledged  thai  this  fpccies  of  cou- 
rage then  appeared  to  him  rr.oie  aftcnifhing  than  that\\  hich 
is  difplayed  in  the  dangers  cf  a  battle.  Had  htr  then  feen 
all  the  foul  of  Dumourier,  he  would  have  found  lu^  ap-< 
parent  fecurity  mingled  with  apprehenfjon,  excited  by  the 
ex;. rrip  e  and  L.te  of  La  Fayette.  But  the  general's  refo- 
lution  was  taken.  He  refolved  to  facrilice  himielf  through- 
out ;  and  would  not  give  his  -army  occafion  to  lay, 
that  the defertion  was  on  his  part,  or  that,  being  recalled 
by  his  foidicrs,  he  had  refitted  their  wifhes. 

Dumourier  pailedpait of  the  night  in  digefting,  with  Colo- 
re.  *  'Vc  k,the  prodamationofthePrii  cecfCcbourg,\\  hich 
appeared  on  the  5th  of  April,  with  that  of  General  Du- 
)],.  .ner.  The  Imperial  General  in  his  proclamation  de- 
clared, that  he  was  now  no  more  than  an  auxiliary  in  the 
vrar,  apainft  the  anarchifts  of  Trance  ;  that  it  was  not  the 
intention  ot  his  fovereigri  to  make  con quefts,  but  toco-ope- 
rat*»,  in  reftoring  peace  and  order  to  France,  with  Gene- 
ril  Dumourier,  whole  principles,  as  they  were  exprelTed 
in  his  pioclnmation,  he  adopted. 

It  was  again  agreed  by  Colonel  Mack,  and  Dumourier, 
that,  as  fjoa  as  the  latter  fhould  be  mafter  of  Conde,  he 
ihould  deliver  it  to  the  Auftrians,  in  order  to  ferve  as  a 
riiae;a>.i>.;e  and  place  of  arms  for  the  Imperial  arrnyj  in  the 
cafe  of  aid  being  demanded  by  Dumourier  ;  that  he  {1-ould 
beinftantly  furnifhtd  wnL  fuch  fuccouisa';  he  mould  de- 
mand ;  that  he  {horH  fpecify  the  number  of  infantry  and 
cavalry  to  be  granted  him,  the  mode  ii?  which  thefe  ii.ould 
fcrve,  whether  by  a  jundtion  with  b.is  troops,  or  by  mak- 
ing one  or  more  feparate  diveifions  in  behalf  of  the  caufe  ; 
that,  however,  DuOiouiier ihould  not  call  for  fuccours,  but 
in  cafe  of  ablblute  need,  it  being  more  agreeable  to  the 
mutual  object  of  the  parties,  that  hefheuld  endeavour  to  ac- 
complifhi  it  by  his  own  troops  only  ;  r.nd  that,  in  cafe  of 
his  being  able  to  do  fo,  the  Irrrperialifts  fi  ould  remain 
neuter,  and  fhouid  not  pafs  the  frontiers  of  France.' 

The  proclamation  of  the  Prirce  of  Cobourg,  made  in 
conftquence  of  this  negociation,  has  been  condemned  but 
unjuftly.  Of  what  real  advantage  had  it  not  been  to  the 
]-n per ia lifts,  and  what  folid  glory  had  they  not  acquired, 
if",  by  enabling  Dumourier  to  march  to  Paris,  they  could 
hv  iVs  ruble  moderation  have  fpared  the  blood  and  tres- 
fure  t;at  will  be  wafted  in  this  quarrel,  for  which  the  towns 


(    245    ) 

that  may  be  acquired  with  infinite  difficulty  will  be  nj 
manner  of  compenfation, 

It  is  to  be  feared  that  an  avidity  for  conquefts  among 
the  belligerent  powers  is  the  real  obftaclc  to  the  termina- 
tion of  this  deftruclive  war.  By  this  paffion  they  were 
prevented  from  feizing  upon  the  occafion  offered  ,by  the 
departure  of  General  Dumourier,  and  the  confequent 
annihilation  of  his  army,  of  preffing  forward  to  Paris. 
The  combined  powers  have  fince  loft  their  time  in  ma- 
king a  methodical  war,  while  the  French  have  been  able 
to  recover  themfelves,  and  tl,~ir  armies  have  become 
more  numerous,  and  better  difciplined. 

On  the  5th  of  April  at  day-break,  Dumourier  pro- 
ceeded with  an  efcort  of  fifty  Imperial  dragoons  to  the 
advanced  guard  of  his  camp  at  Maulde,  where  he  was 
received  with  the  greateft  joy.  He  harangued  the  feve- 
ral  corps,  by  whom  he  was  ^nfwered  with  expreflions  of 
affcdHon.  Notwithftanding,  he  remarked  that  there 
were  fome  indications  of  a  contrary  fpirit,  and  leverai 
factious  groups  aflfembled  in  different  parts. 

His  next  defign  was  to  go  to  St.  Amand,  to  prepare  for 
the  movement  of  his  troops  to  Orchies,  according  to  his 
former  plan.  As  he  was  entering  the  city,  one  of  his 
aids-de-camp  came  toward  him  on  the  full  gallop,  and 
informed  him  that  during  the  night  the  corps  of  artillery, 
excited  by  the  emiffaries  of  Valenciennes,  who  had  fpread 
the  report  that  the  general  was  drowned  in  the  Scheldt 
in  flying  to  the  enemy,  had  fent  a  deputation  to  Valen- 
ciennes, and  that  on  the  return  of  their  deputies  they 
had  inftantly  role  upon  their  generals,  driven  them  from 
the  place,  and  were  preparing  to  march  to  Valenci- 
ennes. 

Dumourier  had  with  him,  two  fquadrons  of  the  regi- 
ment of  Berchiny,  a  fquadron  of  the  buffers  of  Saxef 
fifty  curiaflfiers,  and  a  fquadron  of  the  dragoons  of  Bour- 
bon. Yielding  to  his  emotions  of  paffion,  he  refolved 
to  fall  upon  St.  Amand  with  this  body  of  cavalry.  His 
officers,  however,  reprefented  the  danger  and  inutility  of 
this  ftep,  as  he  had  no  infantry  at  hand,  and  would  fub- 
je£t  his  efcort  to  be  mown  down  by  the  artillery*  He 
gave  way  to  their  reafoning.  He  learnt  {hortly  after  that 
the  corps  of  artillery  went  to  Valenciennes.  The  money 
belonging  to  the  army  and  the  equipages  of  the  officers 
remaining  in  the  city  without  guard,  he  commanded 
them  to  be  conduced  to  Rumegies,  at  the  diflance  of  a 

Kfc  leagim 


C    '46    ) 

league  from  his  camp,  on  the  rond  to  Orchies;  t-IiaU 
village  being  protected  by  a  part  of  his  advanced  guard 
cantoned  there. 

The  corps  of  artillery  was    the  flower  and  ftrength  ot" 
the  French  army.       Feeling  its  importance,,   it  abounded 
mare   than    the  others  in   vflubs  and  orators,  and  indeed,, 
might  pals   for   the   Pretorian   guard    of   the   revolution. 
When    iti  defertion  was  known  in  the  two   camps,    part 
of    the  troops  followed,  and  confufion  and  difrnay  were 
£pre   i  among   the   reft.     Several  of  the  general  officers 
who  waited  for  the  opportunity  were  cae;er  to  lead  entire 
divifions   to  Valenciennes.      Thofe  who   Hill   remained, 
attached    to    the    perfon,    or    principles   of    Dumourier, 
fnllcad  of  ihewing  themfelues  t©  their  troops,  and  fetting, 
an  example  of"  courage,  were  ftruck  with  terror,  conceal- 
ed   t  he  raj  elves,    or    thought    only    of   their  ©WIT  fafety. 
General    La   Marlicr   had  been  among  the  weft,  forward 
ot    the   enemies  of   Anarchy,    and   poflerTed  the  entire 
confidence  of  General  Valence  ;  who,  when  he  depar- 
ted   from    Bruffels,'   confided   the   whole  of  his  baggage 
and   effects  to  him,    with  a    reqjueft  that   he  would  fend 
them  after.  Valence  to.  Tournay.     La  Marlier  appropri- 
ated  the   money,  Fiorfcs-,    and  property  ©f  his. general  to- 
Iiis  own.ufe,  a*id  defcrted  to  Valenciennes.. 

Dumourier  was  at  Uumesaes,  dictating  ordsrs  to  ber 
iflued  to  the  different  parts  of  trie  army,  when  he  heard 
of  the  detection  of  the  troops  in  camp.  Nothing  was 
left  him  now  but  to  provide  for  his  perional  fafety.-  He 
mounted,  his  horfe,  attended  by  General  Thouvenof, 
and  Iiis  brother  the  colonei,  the  Duke  de  Ghartres, 
Colonel  Montjoye,  and  Lieutenant-colonel  Barrois,  two 
or  three  others  of  his  ftaff,  and  fome  Aids-de-campy 
having  no  efcort  ;  and  retiring  to  Tournay  alighted  at 
the  quarters  of  General  Clairfait.  Lie  was  followed  i/Y 
about  an  Fiour  afterward,  *by  fifty  Cuira fliers »  half  a 
iqu^.d'-on  of 'the  huiTars  of'Saxe,  and  the  wlioic  of  th.j 
regiaient  of  Bsrchir/y.  Thole  brave  and  worthy  menr 
brought  \vith  them  the  equipages  be]ongir.2  to  the  general 
and  the  ftaft*ofHcers,  excepting  the  laddie  horlVs  of  the 
genera',  which  were  ftalen  by  one  of  Lis  giooms,  who 
joined' tlie  anarcIiiRs. 

The-  tr  >ops  of  which  we  have  ji  ft  fj'oken  and  a  few 
^thers  that,  arrived  ihortly  afterward,  amountJnc:  to  about 
leven  hundred  liorfe,  and  eight  hundred  infantry,  fol- 
lowed the  General  without  uiiy  iclicitation  en  his  parr; 

and 


(     247    ) 

xnd  tliis  circumftance  renders  hitn  the  more  anxious  re- 
i  peeling  the  fate  of  thole  men,  the  companions  of  his 
former  gjpry,  and  of  his  laft  dil  grace. 

Dumoiirier  in  retiring  from  France  invited  no  one  to 
follow  him.  His  plan  had  totally  failed,  and  a  few 
men  more  or  1-efs  on  either  fide  would  not  influence 
events.  Tire  individuals  attached  to  h-is  caufe  had 
ties  of  family  and  of  inteivft  in  France,  and  he  re- 
folved  not  t-o  multiply  misfortunes  without  benefit, 
riiofe  who  followed  him,  therefore,  had  the  real  merit 
of  being  guided  by  principle. 

In  the  confmSon  that  fucceeded  the  General's  depar- 
ture, none  of  the  orders  that  had  been  itiucd  were  exe- 
cuted. Lieutenant-general  Vouille,  who  commanded 
the  advanced  guard,  did  not  receive  the  order  of  with- 
drawing it  within  the  campof  Maulde  till  the  6th,  when, 
it  was  no  longer  in  his  power.  The  General  retired  to 
Totirnay,  as  did  alto  Major-general  Neuilly,  who  had 
ftfcaiidoned  Conde,  Major-general  de  Bannes,  Second, 
and  de  Dumas,  and  lorne  of  the  principal  officers  of  the 
battalions  of  Volunteers  ;  where  they  were  afterward 
joined  by  Lieutenant-general  Marafle,  Major  Generals 
Rault  and  Berneroji,  and  Colonel  Amandin. 

The  treafury  or"  the  Army  contained  two  millions  of 
livres  in  fpecie.  It  had  been  carried  from  St.  Amand 
to  Fumes,  between  Conde  and  Valenciennes,  by  a 
battalion  of  Chaileurs,  who  at  hrft  deliberated  refpe&ing 
the  dividing  of  it  among  themlelves,  but  afterward  being 
jikely  to  quarrel,  in  order  to  avoid  the  bloodshed  that 
would  enfue,  made  a  merit  of  their  patriotism  and  con- 
ducted it  to  Valenciennes.  Soliva,  a  commiflary  of  the 
army  of  the  Ardennes,  m-.rfued  thcfe  troops  with  a 
fquadron  of  the  dragoons  of  Bourbon,  retook  the  money 
on  the  Glacis  of  Valenciennes,  and  led  it  back  to  Fur- 
nes  ;  but  beins,  preflcd  by  new  battalions  was  a^ain 
obliged  to  adandon  it.  Soiiva  and  tire  dragoons  retired 
by  Mons.  They  might  have  brought  off  the  money  had 
they  pa  fled  by  Braille,  and  Mortugne,  but  the  confuficm 
of  the  moment  prevented  recollection  and  forefiaht.  If 
the  treafurv  of  the  army  had  been  laved,  the  General's 
fituation  had  been  very  diiibrent  ;  and  the  little  armv 
that  followed  his  fortunes,  would  have  encrcafed  rapidly, 
being  in  a  irate  to  piy  them,  inltead  of  being  as  he  really 
was,  without  money.  This  circurnftance  proves,  that 
the  pay  of  the  army  was  not  embezzled  by  him,  nor  em- 
K  k  2  lo 


ployed  as  a  means  of  corruption.  Dumourier  placed  little 
confidence  in  means  of  corruption,  in  which  as  the  lea- 
der of  a  party  his  conduct  was  greatly  erroneous. 

Dumourier  had  not  the  qualities  that  were  requifite  for 
the  leader  of  a  party.  It  is  probable  that  he  would  have 
filled  the  ftation  of  a  General  or  an  AmbaiTador  with  fuc- 
cefs,  under  a  ftable  government,  whether  monarchical,or 
republican.  But  the  violent  (late  of  things  in  France, 
deftru&ive  of  all  his  pre-conceived  ideas  of juftice,  and  in- 
juftice,  threw  him  entirely  out  of  his  fphere.  His  acti- 
vity, fo  greatly  fpoken  of  even  by  his  enemies,  was  re- 
preffed  by  his  dread  of  committing  crimes  ;  and  he  pre- 
ferred his  own  efteem  to  fuccefs.  Thus  in  his  firft  re- 
flections, after  his  retreat  among  the  Imperialills,  he  faw 
the  caufe  of  his  failure  in  himfelf,  but  he  felicitated  him- 
fclf  on  the  fa6t.  To  have  fwayed  the  fortune  of  Franc»e, 
had  undoubtedly  given  him  a  noble  place  in  hiftory  ;  but 
to  have  been  indebted  for  it  to  the  flagiticmfnefs  of  his  con- 
duct, was  too  fevere  a  condition  ;  and  he  was  happy  in 
refigning  one  to  efcape  the  other. 

He  invites  men  of  high  Nations  to  examine  themfelves 
with  the  fame  aufterity  ;  and  moralifts,  to  fludy  the  influ- 
ence which  character  has  on  events.  '  Csefar  and  Pom- 
pey,  determined  a  noble  quarrel  by  noble  means,  and  on 
both  fides  were  difplayed  greatnefs  of  mind,  virtues,  and 
talents.  Had  thole  men  been  furrounded  with  the  low- 
eft  vices  of  the  meaneft  claffes  in  fociety ,  they  would  have 
fl^d,  or  would  have  fallen  viclims.  It  demands  a  Maa- 
niello  to  conduct  the  populace.  But  when  a  great  nation 
becomes  an  entire  populace,  neighbouring  nations  are 
thrown  into  the  greateft  embarraflment  ;  becaufe  the  elec- 
tric ipirit  fpreads  with  more  rapidity  among  the  people, 
than  among  the  higher  orders  of  men. 


CHAP.     XIV. 

Dumourier  at  Mons* — Eft&tli/Jiytcirt  of  tfye  French  at 
Leuze. — Congrefs  oj  Antwerp. — Second  Prodajnatwn  of 
the  Prince  of  Cobourg. — Departure  of  the  General  jor 
BruJJcls. 

OENERALCLAIRFAITgaveordersforthererrption 
of  the  French  troops  which  might  arri  ve  in  the  villages  round 
the  town  of  Leuze,  which  was  fixed  upon  for  the  refidence 
oi'.ihe  French  gen  era  I  officers  ;  and  Dumourier  departed  for 


(     249     ) 

Mons,  accompanied  by  the  Duke  dc  Chartrcs,  Colonel 
Thouvenot,  Colonel  Montjoye,  and  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Barrois,  paiTing  by  Bury,  to  concert  meafures  with  the  of- 
ficer commanding  the  Imperial  advanced  poft,  for  proteft- 
ing  the  retreat  of  fuch  of  the  French  as  ihould  join  the 
Imperialifts. 

The  Impcria lifts  were  faithful  to  their  truce.  It  is  cer- 
tain that  had  they  fallen  on  the  French  camp  on  the  jjth 
of  April,  they  might  have  utterly  deftroyed  the  army. 
Their  conduct  was  therefore  highly  honourable  :  yet, 
without  incurring  the  blame  of  perfidy,  perhaps  on  that 
day  they  ought  to  have  made  a  movement  with  their  army, 
taking  pofleffion  of  the  camp  of  Maulde,  and  (hewing 
themfelves  at  St.  Amand  :  they  not  only  would  have 
found  no  refinance,  but  probably  would  have  been  joined 
by  feveral  battalions  of  the  French,  which  during  more 
than  four-and-twenty  hours,  appeared  by  their  movements 
to  be  irrefolute  as  to  the  conduct  they  fhould  purfue.  But 
however  this  may  be,  the  fidelity  of  the  Imperialifts  to  their 
engagements,  is  to  be-  applauded.  Their  motives  were 
mod  worthy,  as  well  as  the  gencrofity  with  which  they  re- 
ceived the  French  refugees,  who  had  certainly  been  a- 
mong  the  bravefl  of  their  enemies. 

Durnourier  found  Colonel  Mack  at  Bury,  from  which 
place  they  departed  together  for  Mons,  in  the  general's 
carriage.  It  was  agreed  between  them,  that  the  Impe- 
rialifts fhould  inftantly  befiege  Conde,  and  that  the  place 
ihould  be  fummoned  in  the  name  of  General  Dumourier, 
who  accordingly  wrote  the  fummons  and  lent  it  the  fol- 
lowing day  to  the  Imperial  headquarters.  It  was  further 
agreed  that  a  return  fhould  be  made  of  the  officers  and  fol- 
diers  which  accompanied  or  followed  Dumourier  ;  that 
confidering  their  haying  unfortunately  loft  theis -military 
cheft,  they  fhould  receive  the  pay  of  their  refpecKve  rank.% 
at  the  rate  that  officers  of  the  fame  rank  in  the  Imperial 
fervice  were  paid,  and  fhould  be  placed  on  the  fame  foot- 
ing ;  that  a  commiffury  of  war  belonging  to  the  Imperial 
army  ihould  be  attached  to  thcfe  troops,  together  with  a 
French  commiflary,  to  certify  the  juftice  of  the  returns  ; 
that  an  advance  ihould  be  made  from  the  Imperial  trea- 
fury  of  30,000  florins,  which  ihould  be  put  into  the  hands 
cf  the  French  ftalF  officers  for  the  pay  of  their  troops,  that 
Dumourier  fhould  have  the  rank,  and  eftabliihment  of 
Fcld-zctigmtiftcr  (general  of  the  artillery) ;  and  that  fi- 
nally, this  pay  and  advance  ihould  be  regarded  as  a  loan 
to  the  party  of  Dumourier,  and  that  the  general  fhould  en- 
gage, as  focn  as  any  progrefs  fhould  be  made  in. France, 
*••  reimburse  this  fum  to. the  Imperial  treafury. 


It  is  a  confolation  to  General  Durnourier,  that  the  com- 
panions of  his  mifortunes  continue  to  enjoy  this  eftablilh- 
.ment.  Indeed  they  have,  fmce  that -period,  heen  fubjeft- 
ed  to  the  condition  of  taking  an  oath,  which  was  not  in 
thefirft  inftanc«  required  ;  but  at  that  period  they  were 
the  foldiers  of  a  party  which  no  longer  exifts,  and  it  hns 
been  fince  deemed  neceffary  to  demand  that  fccurity  for 
their  fidelity.  Dumourier  would  himfelf  become  their 
pledge  with  readinefs,  having  throughout  the  war  tried 
their  fidelity,  courage,  and  refignation.  Let  them  accept 
of  this  teftimcfny  of  the  efteem  and  arlecYion  of  their  ge- 
neral, and  may  they  be  recompsnfed  for  their  virtues  in 
contributing  to  the  fuccefs  of  the  power  whom  they  will 
faithfully  ferve, 

In  purfuance  of  thefe  arrangments,  Dnrnourier  caufed^ 
by  the  order  of  the  Prince  of  Cobourg,  10,000  florins  to 
be  advanced  to  the  French  troops  at  Leuze;  unwilling, 
through  motives  of  delicacy,  to  take  the  whole  of  the  mo- 
ney agreed  to  be  advanced,  becaufe  in  penetrating  fpeed- 
ilv  into  France  this  fum  would  have  ierved  till  they  could 
have  proceeded  further  into  the  interior  part  of  the  coun- 
try ;  and  Durnourier  appeals  to  the  Prince  of  Cobourg, 
Colonel  Mack,  and  the  other  principal  officers  of  the 
Imperial  army,  refpe&ing  the clearnefs  and  dihtereftednefs 
of  his  condi:6t.  It  was  further  decided  that  the  general, 
till  he  ihould  be  employed  with  his  troops,  fhould  be  pro- 
vided with  quarters,  near  thofe  of  the  Prince  of  Cobourg; 
end  the  Imperial  head  quarters  being  cflablifhed  at  Bouil'u, 
General  Dumourier's  quarters  were  fixed  at  the  abbey  of 
St.  Ghillain. 

Dumourier  makes  here  an  avowal  of  his  gratitude  to 
the  general  officers  of  the  Imperial  army,  by  whom  he  was 
treated  with  diftingmihed  marks  of  regard,  and  more  par- 
ticularly by  the  Archduke  Charles,  and  the  Prince  of  Co- 
bour<r.  Ac  this  time  was  formed  a  friendfhip  between 
Colonel  Mack  and  Dumourier,  which  on  the  part  of  the 
latter  will  never  be  diminifhed.  Colonel  Mack  is  an  of- 
ficer of  uncommon  virtue,  and  military  talents,  and  the  un- 
bounded confidence  placed  in  him  by  the  Imperial  army 
is  the  jufi  recompence  of  his  fervices.  It  is  greatly 
to  be  hoped,  for  the  intercO:  of  the  houfe  of  Auftria,  that 
the  health  of  this  officer  will  be  reftorcd. 

During  two  days  that  Dumourier  was  at  Mons,  he  was 
treated  by  the  inabitants  in  a  manner  that  is  flattering  to 
his  own  honour  ;  and  his  reception  was  the  fame  at  Tour- 
ray,  Leuze,  and  indeed,  throughout  the  whole  of  that 
country  ;  ihefe  worthy  people  being  fenfible  of  the  fer- 


(     35'     ) 

vices  he  had  rendered  them,  efpecially  on  his  rctrun  from 
Holland,  and  during  the  retreat  of  his  army  to  France. 

It  would  be  injuftice  not  to  name  aa  inftance  of  the  de- 
licate attention  of  the  Prince  of  Cobourg  to  Dumourier's 
Situation.  The  General  feeing  a  corps  of  two  hundred 
chaffeurs  belonging  to  the  emigrants,  as  they  pailed  thro* 
Mons,  on  their  route  to  join  the  advanced  guard  of  the 
army,  represented  to  the  Prince  of  Cobourg,  that  this 
mingling  of  the  emigrants  with  his  troops  could  not  but 
produce  fatal  effects,  cfpecially  on  entering  France  ;  and 
the  Prince  of  Cobourg  inftantly  gave  counter  orders  to  the 
chafTeurs  ;  lending  them  by  Namur,  to  fcrve  in  the  ad- 
vanced guard  of  the  Prince  of  Hohenloe. 

The  Prince  of  Lambefc-Lorraine  tcftified  alfo  to  the 
general  his  gratitude  for  the  eiTential  fervice  rendered  to 
his  houfe  by  Dumourier  when  he  was  Minifter  of  Fo- 
reign Affairs,  in  preventing  an  unjuft  confifcation  of  his 
property,  and  of  that  >.f  the  Princefs  of  Vaudemont. 

On  the  yth  of  April,  the  Prince  of  Cobourg  departed*, 
with  Colonel  Mack,  to  attend  the  Congrefs,  held  at  Ant- 
werp ;   from  which  place  he  returned  on   the   evening  cf 
the  8th.     Dumourier  pafled  thole  two  days  at  Leuze,  in 
the  midflof  his  comrades,  whole  tincafinefs  he  diffipatcd 
by  informing  them- of  the  eftablifhments  made  for  them 
by  the  Imperialifts.     General  Vouille  took  the  command 
of  thefe    troops  ;    and   Dumourier,    affiiled  by  General 
Thouvenot,  began  to  reform  them,  according  to  the  re- 
gulations of  the  Imperial  army  ;  which  was  the  more  ne- 
eeflary,  as  the  refugees  werccompofed  only  of  fragments 
of  the  different  corps ;   withthe  exception  of  the  regiment 
of  Berchiriy.      Durnouriei  quitted  the  companions  of  his 
misfortune^  on  the  evening  of  the  8fh,  and  felt  fome  pre- 
fentimenl  that    he  fhculd   not  return  to   them.     On  the- 
snorning  of  the   qth  he  arrived  at  Mons,  where  he  foun«f 
the  Prince  of  'Cobourg,  letting  off  for  his  head  quarters-. 
Dumouri'er  went  there  alfo  ;  and  after  treating  further  oa 
what  regarded  their  mutual  intereftsr  he  went  in  the  eve- 
ning to  the  quarters  which  had  been  prepared  for  him  at 
the  abbey  of  St.  Ghiilafn. 

On  the  morning  of  the  icth  of  April,  a  proclamation 
ef  the  Prince  of  Cobourg  was  brought  to  Dumoimer,  datccJ 
the  gth,  which  entirely  annulled  the  former  proclamation 
of  the  5th;.andexprefsly  declared,  thatthePrinceofCobourg 
would  thenceforth  carry  on  the  war  againft  France,  in 
behalf  of  his  fovereign,  and  would  hold  fuch  towns,  as 
lie  rni^ht  take,  by  the  right  of  conqueft,  amd  on  tlte  ground 
ef  indemnity. 


The  emigrants  have  had  the  imprudence  to  rejoice  at 
the  iffuing  of  this  latter,  and  to  condemn  the  former.  It 
might  be  demanded  if  thefe  emigrants  were  Frenchmen. 
But,  letting  alide  the  influence  of  paffions,  by  which  not 
only  individuals,  but  alfo  the  governments  interefted  in 
this  war  are  influenced,  it  will  appear  but  too  true,  that 
the  fecond  proclamation  of  the  Prince  of  Cobourg,  in  de- 
priving Dumourier's- party  of  all  means  of  a&ing  in  con- 
cert, and  in  fetting  forth  the  belligerent  powers  as  rapa- 
cious conquerors,  has  attached  the  whole  of  the  French 
armies  to  the  intereft  of  the  National  Convention,  which 
the  greater  part  of  them  had  previoufly  detefted  ;  has 
compelled  the  caufe  of  royalty  to  be  forgotten,  in  the  dan- 
ger of  the  country  ;  has  pointed  out  the  falvation  of  France 
asrefting  on  the  exigence  of  the  Republic  ;  has  rallied 
the  different  parties  round  the  ftandard  of  the  national 
honour  ;  and  has  certainly  been  injurious  to  the  fuccefs 
of  the  campaign,  and  rendered  the  ifluc  of  the  war  ex- 
tremely uncertain. 

This  fecond  pioclamation  was  ifiued  at  the  conclufion 
of  the  Congrefs  at  Antwerp,  in  confequencc  of  the  deter- 
mination of  the  minifters  of  the  combined  powers.  Du- 
mourier  now  faw  that  his  treaty  with  the  Imperialifts  was 
entirely  deflroyed  ;  and,  without  offering  ufelefs  'com- 
plaints of  this  fudclen  change  in  the  councils  of  the  Impe- 
rialifts,  he  confulted  only  his  character,  and  principles, 
and  refolved  to  lacrificc  all  his  peribnal  interefts. 

He  repaired  inftantly  to  the  head  quarters,  and  told  the 
Prince  of  Cobourg  frankly,  that  he  came  to  thank  him  for 
the  perfonal  kindneffes  he  had  rendered  him,  and  that  he 
hoped  to  continue  to  merit  his  cfleem  ;  that  when  he  en- 
tered into  a  treaty  with  the  Prince  of  Cobourg,  his  obje6l 
was  the  regenera^on  of  France,  and  not  its  difmember- 
ment  ;  that  he  would  not  enter  into  any  difcuvnon  con- 
cerning the  motives  of  the  combined  powers  ;  but  that  for 
his  part,  he  could  have  no  mare  in  leffening  the  territory 
of  France,  or  employ  either  his  influence,  or  his  mode- 
rate talents,  in  that  tafk  ;  and  that  therefore  he  felt  him- 
ielf  obliged  to  withdraw  from  the  coalition,  and  muft  be- 
fcech  the  Prince  cf  Cobourg  to  grant  him  a  paflfport. 

The  Prince  of  Cobourg  could  not  forbear  to  exprefs  his 
high  efteem  of  his  delicacy.  The  Arch  Duke  Charles, 
and  Colonel  Mack,  alfo  exprefled  their  efteem  for  the  ge- 
neral ,*  and  he  departed  for  Bruffels.  Dumourier  can 
have  no  doubt  that,  after  a  direct  violation  of  the  princi- 
ples of  the  treaty  that  had  taken  place,  and  after  an  open 
difavowal  of  the  proclamation  iiTued  in  confequence  of 


(    '53    ) 

"(hat  treaty,  liis  prefencc  muft  have  been  embarraffing  to 
the  Imperialiils,  and  th.it  they  regarded  the  refolution  he 
took  with  plealure.  But  itwas  not  long  that  he  left  them  in 
any  perplexity,  his  refolution  was  taken  the  moment  he 
perceived  ther  dcfigns.  ' 

Before  Dumourier  quitted  the  Imperial  army,  he  had 
the  fatisfadtkm  of  knowing  that  his  former  companions 
would  be  continued  in  their  rank  and  employments. 
They  are  well  treated  and  ferve  in  the  Imperial  army, 
where  affuredly  they  will  fupport  their  reputation, 

Being  arrived  at  Bruflels,  he  explained  the  motives  of 
his  conduct  to  the  Count  de  Metternich,  the  emperor's 
miniiler  in  the  Netherlands,  who  received  him  with  the 
greateft  friendfnip,  and  gave  him  a  paiTport  for  Ger- 
many. 

In  this  place  the  memoirs  of  the  public  life  of  General 
Dumourier  are  concluded.  The  remainder  of  his  life 
has  been  filled  up  with  difficulties,  dangers,  perfections, 
and  calumnies  of  every  kind,  of  which  he  may  one  day 
render  an  account  to  the  public.  But  this  hiftory  can 
only  intereft  thofc  who  are  truly  his  friends,  and  they  are 
not  many  :  or,  real  philofophers,  and  -fucli  are  indeed 
rare. 


CHAP.     XV. 
Conclufion. 

SUCH  is  the  ferics  of  events  in  three  of  the  moft 
difaftrous  months  of  General  Dumourier's  life.  In  this 
fliort  period  he  has  experienced  all  the  miferies,  and  all 
the  dangers,  that  the  weaknefs  and  wickednefs  of  man 
can  inflict  upon  a  public  character.  Calumny  and  injuf- 
tice  form  the  outline  of  this  dark  picture,  which  may 
ferve  as  a  leffon  to  men  of  every  defcription,  and  from 
which  philofophy  alone  can  extract  thofe  confolatory 
reflections  which  propriety  of  conduct  and  rectitude  of 
motive  fupply.  He  hates,  neither  thofe  who  have  de- 
famed his  character,  nor  thofe  who  have  purfued  his  life, 
nor  thofe  who  have  refufed  him  an  afylum,  and  whole 
ungenerous  and  ill  founded  refentment  pcrfecutes  him 
wherever  he  flies.  The  firft,  are  ignorant  of  the  true 
(late  of  thofe  facts,  which,  from  their  very  fingularity, 
are  exceedingly  liable  to  mifreprefef.tation.  The  fecond, 

L  1 


are  actuated  by  that  Ipirit  of  fanaticifm,  winch  is  rcafon- 
uble  proof.  The  third,  arc  prejudiced  by  calumny, 
and  confider  him  as  a  dani.ejous  character. 

The  Mh.ii.ers  of  f<>n  }.•  n  courts  have  "iven  it  out,  after 
the  Emigrants,  that  be  Is  a  proper.  aB.jcft  of  luipicion, 
that  they  can  never  be  hire  he  wiij  rot  veer  about 
and  put  liimfelf  at  the  liead  of  the  French.  His  pro- 
icription,  and  his  three  declarations,  ought  to  be  a  iuffi- 
cient  pledge  of  his  firmnefs  :  thofe  three  pieces  have 
ivii.'cd  him  rrnny  enemies  by  the  perverie  imfccnftruo 
i'.u'a  given  to  his.  expDajfiotiS. 

He  avows  liiat.he  jlafilonatcly  loves  his  country.  and 
that  he  will  never  hefitate  a  mcnu-'iit  to  facrii:ce  his  life 
to  its  welfare;  but  he  declares,  at  the  fame  time,  that 
v/hilft  it  is  polluted  with  crime?,  and  delivered  over  to 
the  horrors  of  anarchy,  he  will  never  enter  it  again  : 
that,  profcribed,  as  he  is.  and  an  out  raft  of  ibciety,  he 
prefers  all  the  miferies  and  all  the  dangers  he  may  incur, 
TJ)  the  moft  fplendid  fituation  in  which  the  opprefibrs  of 
hrs  countrymen,  and  the  inciters  of  their  mad  exceiies, 
could  place  him. 

[c  has.  been  the  open  enemy  of  thofe  powers  who 
wifiied  to  interfere  in  the  internal  attairs  of  his  country, 
lot-i  whilft  he  was  a  minifier,  and  whilft  he  was  a  gene- 
ral; becaufe  he  was  moil  firmly  perfuaded,  that  the 
Revolution,  v/hich  \vns  '  doubileis,  expedient  a»d  inevi- 
table, would  liave  h-ecn  accorrl|)lifhed;,  not  only  with 


open  inCQuragemehJ  given  to  the  emigrants,  liad  not 
c  \aiperated  to  rnadnels  a  people  by  nature  impetu- 
ous and  violent.  After  licentioufneis  and  anarchy  had 
destroyed  eve  Bjcarrcei  he  w'lhed  to  avail  him- 

ieif of  thefune  ibreiiin  powers  to  re-eftabjija  order,  not 
i-ricrely  without  irpurv  to  his  country,  but  with  the 
ii-icic  tender  Eegafd  i<:r  its  intertTt  and  its  glory. 

When  he  fnw  that  this  became  impructicL-.ble,  he  form- 
ed the  plan  of  a  diveriion,  by  which  he  conceived  re 
•>  inlit  cITenti  ••::  the  c;::;fe  of  his  country  a.nd  of 

•«>pe.  Diiiruil,  or  other  motives,  prevented  its  exe- 
cution. He  grieves  Mt  iho  protraction  of  -the  U.llciings 
cf  human  nntiire  :  he  fjrtiis  impaf  '  the  fcnrjina- 

iion  of  ihiscaiauiitions.wa",  wbbqut  i^v.  •feeing  the  means 
<«f  its  ac'.-ompliihment,:  —  ;V»r  in  tlrii;;  \vhich  r?«;w  takes- 

o  in  Europe,    wirh  rtf%eiSt^o  France,  c?.n  he 
fd     upon    aiier  the  coKiHion    ii:;iAiir»s  of  policy  ar.d 


It  'has  been  faid  that  he  was  bi  Ibed  ever 
Patriots,  and  afterward  ibid  to  the  Prince  of  Orange  a 
l\i\  of  trie  principal  confpirators.  This  abfurd  inn 
<ion  appears  in  a  German  work  on  the  French  Revolu- 
tion, called  Minerva,  much  -eiteemed  for  the  beauty  of 
its  ftyle.  The  author  has  certainly  been  deceived  in  this 
as  well  as  in  many  other  cicumdances,  ef  General  I_\i- 
mourier's  life,  which  the  natural  love  of  the  marvellous 
has  conftantly  magnified  and  blackened.  He  doc-arc?, 
that  he  never  poiieiied  a  lift  of  the  Dutch  Patriots,  thr.t 
he  knew  only  a  very  fm.ill  party  of  thefe  refugees  in 
France,  that  he  knew  thefe  only  becaufe  they  formed  a 
Batavian  Revolutionary  Committee  at  Aatwerp  ;  that  he 
does  not  know  the  names  of  any  of  thole  who  may  enter- 
tain the  fame  opinions  in  Holland  ;  that  he  has  never 
had  any  communication,  either  before  or  f;ncc,  with  the 
Stadtholder's  party  ;  that  it  is  even  impoifible  fuch  a. 
communication  mould  have  exillcd,  as  that  court  r.ever 
forgave  the  manifefto  which  preceded  his  expedition  into 
Holland  ;  that  he  never  received  a  bribe  ;  that  he  is-  poor, 
and  glories  in  being  Jo, 

He  will  conclude  thefe  Mctiwlrs  with  feme  -.ob  Nerva- 
tions on  the  thre;  claiies  of  French  emigrants.  Foreign- 
ers are  furprifed,  that  they  fhould  not  unite  in  their  dif- 
trefs,  becaufe  they  are  unacquainted  with  their  difiingi 
ing  characters.  Their  divilions  are  a. great  misfortune,  but 
they  are  aimed:  without  a  remedy. 

The  firlt  clafs,  of  which  the  Princes  of  the  Koufe  of 
Bourbon  are  the  leaders,  confifts  of  the  old  court,  the  high  - 
er  order  of  eccleuaftics,  the  parliaments,  and  the  princi- 
pal ftnanciai  department.  Allured  by  the  frduciive  in- 
fluence of  this  party  on  the  one  hand,  and  terrified  by  the 
extravagance  of  the  Jacobins  on  the  other,  -the  low  no- 
b.iflfTe  have  been  induced  to  join  them  in  mi-itary  arrav." 
This  rials  Is  conifsoled  of  pure  K&yaiifls  :  they  \viih  and 
demand  the  rc-e-i-.i'^i'b.iTient  of  the  av;ch':it  \r\  -md 

of  courie,  of  abfohite  defpotii'm  ;   and  r^  '--ifti- 

tutions  with  all  their  abufes,  infliCutionw.whJch  it.i&im- 
pofBble  rnoiiM  ever  re- appear i  Bnce  a'n^wHr>derof  thinphs 
has  rendered  France  no  longer  the  l/Yauc"  of  f6rmef.davsi 
but  a  new  natinji,.  requliin:);  as  u  new  T):;':,::;,  a  ue'v  mo- 
ral and  political  c<  •  ;,  to  re-cih;l-.H'h  on  the  broad 
bafis  of  general  utility  the  iecunty.c  .  .  nnc! 
the.  co-afiJeii-re  of  tlie  people. 

f-r  i^  ^ 

LI  1 


The  fecond  chfs,  of  which  Fayettc  is  the  apparent 
leader,  confifts  of  the  conftitutional  monarchies,  men  who 
dcfire  a  great  reformation,  or  rather  a  total  reformation, 
in  the  principles  and  forms  of  the  old  government.  The 
greater  part  of  this  clafs  were  employed  in  the  firft  Na- 
tional ArTemb'y  in  the  great  work  of  forming  the  New 
Constitution  ;  but  falling,  as  they  foon  did,  a  iacrifice  to  the 
cabals  of  the  people  of  Paris,  and  above  all  to  the  frantic 
exceiles  of  the  Jacobins,  paid  dearly  for  the  propagation 
of  thofe  principles  of  Liberty  and  Equality,  which,  having 
been  originally  laid  down  by  themfelves  without  any  mo- 
dification, and  taken  up  by  the  people  in  too  profs  and 
literal  a  icnfc,  were  puflied  to  that  extravagant  extent, 
which  has  brought  about  the  fubverfion  of  all  the  efhtcs, 
and  the  general  anarchy  of  France. 

The  third  clafs,  which  is  fcarcely  difunguifhable  frcm 
the  former,  but  by  the  later  date  of  their  defection  confifts 
of  the  military  who  followed  General  Dumourier  :  and 
all  the  nobles  profcribed  on  this  occafion,  who  could  ef- 
ciipe  from  their  country.  This  clafs  includes  all  thofe 
members  cf  the  National  Convention  who  had  the  courage 
to  vote  in  favour  of  Louis  XVI.  and  again!!  all  the  abomi- 
nations which  refulted  from  his  execution  ;  and  \vho, 
having  atteftcd  their  vvifhes  in  a  proteft,  had  the  good  for- 
tune to  efc.-i.pe. 

The  firft:  dais,  the  rrcft  numerous,  the  moft  fplendid, 
the  moil:  difFufed  over  Europe,  and  the  moft  favoured  by 
its  attentions — by  -little  effectual  aid,  but  great  promiies, 
and  ilill  pftcn.er  by  humiliations  and  caprice,  poflefTes  the 
rnefl  decided  avcrfion  to  the  t\vo  others  ;  and  confounds 
them  in  its  ignorant  preemption  with  the  Jacobins  them- 
feives.  The  unjttft  imprifonment  of  Fayette  excites  in 
their  hofoms  no  mercy  for  that  unfortunate  General.  But 
againft  Dumouner,  they  level  all  their  rage  :  and  the 
::cal  with  which  they  calumniate  his  character  augment 
his  drftreifes,  and  encourage  his  univerfal  profcriplion,  is 
truly  furprifing. 

This  clafs  has  prefervcd  all  its  pride  and  all  its  pretsn- 
f-ons.  It  will  have  every  thine;  or  nothing.  The  laft 
fuccefsof  the  Combined  Armies  fills  them  with  frantic  joy; 
and  nothing  is  heard  but  ofFenfivc  fchemes  of  revenge  and 
perfonal  ambition.  If  the  operations  of  the  fame  armies 
flacken  fora  feafon — thev  are  betrayed — they  nr?  defert- 
cd,  they  are  undone — ?ind  this  moment  the  King  of  PruiMa 
the  next  the  Emperor's,  are  aiTailed 
•n-u!i  ;hoir  iovid  atid  i:::!ca(bnab!c  rcpior.ches.  Always 


extravagant  and  always  difguftful  to  the  people  where 
they  re  fide,  who  coolly  obferve  their  motions,  and  con- 
clude, with  fome  plaufibility,  that  felfifnnefs  is  their  fble 
leading  principle,  they  have  the  prefumption  to  think  that 
all  Europe  is  only  armed  for  their  fakes,  and  that  when 
they  re-enter  their  country,  where  they  will  recognife 
nothing — not  even  the  vefliges  of  their  demolifhed  villas, 
they  mall  take  poffcfRon  of  their  town-manfions,  their 
country  cottages,  their  elegant  luxuries,  their  domeftics, 
their  dependents,  and  above  all  their  power,  and  their 
credit. 

The  intolerance  of  this  clafs  of  emigrants  towards  the 
two  others  precludes  that  union  which  is  fo  eflentially  ne- 
ceflary  in  their  prefect  unfortunate  iituation,  were  it  only 
to  excite  the  attention  and  companion  of  thefeveral  States 
where  they  have  fled  for  protection,  and  rove  without  a 
fcttlement.  There  are  notwithflanding  in  this  clafs,  fome 
few  individuals  of  fenfe  borne  away  in  the  general  mafs 
by  their  unlucky  fituation,  and  the  prejudices  of  their 
birth,  who  form  an  exception  to  the  general  rule,  and  fin- 
cerely  reprobate  the  extravagance  of  the  reft,  but  they  are 
little  attended  to.  This  clafs  is  divided  too,  within  itfelf, 
into  factions  as  active,  as  intriguing,  as  full  of  bickerings 
and  jealoufies,  as  when  it  g'ittered  at  Paris  or  Verfailles. 
It  is  a  court  itinerant,  which  has  loft  nothing  of  its  occu- 
pation, though  deprived  of  its  (lability. 

The  other  two  cla'Tes  of  emigrants  are  infinitely  more 
moderate  and  reafonable,  and  might  fcon  be  brought  tQ 
coaleice.  Fayette  and  Dumourier,  if  they  met  in  any 
other  place  than  a  prifon,  would  foon  understand  each 
other  ;  and  the  (hades  of  difference,  which  have  hitherto 
only  feparated  them,  perhaps  for  want  of  a  due  explana- 
tion, would  melt  away,  and  vaiiifh  before  the  comrrtbn  in- 
tereft  of  their  country,  and  the  common  fuffenngsof  them- 
felves.  For  thefe  two  chiefs,  and  thcfe  Iwo  clafies  have 
both  been  ilreru'.ousfor  the  eftabiithmentof  liberty  in  their 
country,  and  the  reformation  of  abufes.  The)  have  fi.-p- 
ported  with  firmnefs  the  great  caufe  of  human  nature,  and, 
if  they  have  differed  in  the  means,  they  have  agreed  in 
the  principle. 

General  Durnourier  declares  to  the  emigrants  cf  every 
defcription,  whom  force  or  inclination  has  feparated  from 
their  country,  that  it  is  only  by  a  well  cemented  union 
they  can  acquire  that  connderation,  winch  alone  can  bet- 
ter their  fituation  at  the  clofe  of  the  war,  whether  they 
iuccecd  in  return; Jig;  to  their  country,  or  whether  they  are 


cTocmGi!  to  relinquifh  it  forever:  (hat  it  is  the  advantage 
of  misfortune  to  purify  the  mind,  and  to  temper  it  for  the 
hardier  virtues  :  that  it  is  time  to  renounce  the  language 
of  prejudice,  iince  it  is  no  longer  underfrood  in  France.: 
thr.t,  that  country  is  more  different  from. the  France  .of 
1 78.8,,  than  fro,m  Gaul  in  Julius  Casfar's  time  ;  that  it  even 
changes  every  fix  months  ;  and,  that  unfortunately  the 
Jacobins  have  been  more  prudential  in  the  gradations  of 
their  cringes  th:m  the  emi'zract?,  who,  without  giving 
themfelves  the  trouble  to  examine  the  pro^refs  of  tl.-e  na- 
tional genius,  build  all  their  fcheme-,  on  the  (late  of  France 
at  the  point  of  time  th?t  they  left  it. 

Their  unfortunate  iituation  may  continue  a  long  time, 
it  may  become  utterly  without  a  *  emedy  :  the  worl*  Iboulcl 
always  be  fuppofed,  that  we  mnv  net  be  milled  by  falla- 
cious ex peciations.  If  they  don't  pcriiit  in  (baking  cfF 
their  arrogance,  their  extravagance,  their  imprudence, 
their  internal  difcord,  they  will  foon  difguft  the  people 
who  give  them  {belter,  and  whole  temper  will  infallibly  be 
toured  oa  a  thousand  occasions  by  the  war  ,-  their  minds 
will  not  be  fortified  to  bear  the  triumphs  of  fuccefs,  or  the 
Generation  of  a  failure  :  in  the.firft  cafe,  they  will  abufe 
their  return,  and  be  driven  into  a  baniihment  more  hope- 
lefs  than  ihc.ir  nrcfcnt  one  ;  in  the  fccond,  they  will  be- 
co-ue  ib.e  mofi  H'pfitche^  men  upon  the  face  of  the  earth, 

Daniihmen1',  li  !\o  everv  ether  condition  of  human  na- 
ture, h-'s  its  advantage*:.  If  f-i^es  us  objects  of  companion, 
of  which  we  wou'd  never  othcrwife  have  an  idea  ;  it  gives 
us  inform '-lion  ;  it  calls  forth  our  energies  by  its  difficul- 
ties ;  it  renders  us  indulgent  and  fociablc  ,  it  excites  be- 
tween ourfelves  and  our  proteclors  a  reciprocation  of  fcn- 
fibilitv  an;!  benevolence.  The  upright  man,  the  man  of 
wiillorn  and  refle£ticn,  brings  back  from  this  involuntary 
pilgrimage,  a  ftore  of  thole  hardy  and  of  thole  gentle  viv- 
-,  wliich  qualify  him  better  to  benefit  his  country,  and 
lend  to  tint  univerfal  philanthropy  M  hlch  din.ilhes  the  dif- 
mal  •  ile^s  of  national  partialities* 

Oeneral  L^'uinourier  pjives  them  another  pie«, e  of  a'!i: T-?, 

which  he  carefully  oblerves  himfelf to  be  indulgent 

to  their  countrymen,  and  not  to  revile  a  whole  nation  by 
tco  indiscriminate  reproaches.  It  is  imp-indent,  at  lea  ft, 
to  brand  ?s  rebels tu  entv  miliions  of  n^en  who  lile  againft 
p  hundred  thoufhnd.  Thefe  tv/c-ntv  millions  form  luch  an 
imrrienfo  majoiity,  t];-:t  tiiehiincircd  thouiand  are  more  de- 
iffvi«!->-  of  the  n.jme  oc  rebels.  T'he  cn-igrants  of  every 
'  >  lo\c. their  cour.trv,  a-d  are  worthy  o.C 


returning  to  it,  nva)fairly— -under  the  denial  apprehen- 
iion,  lelt  anarchy  iluild  produce  the  total  fubxeiiion  and 
•  disorganization  of  lie  empire — may  fairly  deleft  five  or 
fix  hundred-  fcoun<rels  who  lead  that  amiable  people 
affray,,  and  hurry  tern  beyond  the  reafonable  bounds  of 
true  liberty,  of  true  »atriotifm,  oi  feafible  equality,  and  of 
the  poflible  means  o  public  happineis  and  order;  but  they 
ihou!d"~furely  prefers,  in  misfortune  efpecially,  that  love 
for  their  com;Uy  wl  ,;h  mail  Jains  then  title  to  its  blefi- 
ingr. 

They  (houid  neve  calum.ni«te  the  nation  at  largfc  I  they 
may  juftly  lament  th.t  the  French  are  blindfolded,  and  led 
through  crimes  into  every  extravagance.       But   there  is 
one  point  of  view   v'hich   is   condolatory   to   every  true 
Frenchman  :  lie  feesihrouah  all  tins  anarchy,    a  moft'de- 
•tennitied  courage,  aid  the  greateft  frankneis  of  opinion. 
With  thefe  qualities  he  French  may  br:  brought  back  from 
-their  errors  ;   but  it  :s  by  reafon,  and  not  by  reproaches, 
that  this  can  be  accorlpliihed.      Let  thofe  among  the  emi- 
grants whole  fituatioi,  whole  influence,  and  whole  know- 
ledge, may  one  (lav- tall  them  to  the  important  duty  of  re- 
eftabliihing  order  in  France,  let  thefe  men  lit  themfeives 
for  reclaiming  the  public  opinion,  by -inftan'tly  iacriiicing 
their  refentment,  of  v.hatevcr  nature,  or  liowever  juft,  and 
ceaiing   to  exafperatc  by  inve6iives  the  whole  of  the  peo- 
ple of  France.       Tie  character  of  that  people  may   be 
eclipfed  for  a  lime,  bit  will  never  be  entirely  obliterated  ; 
and  what  is  crime  in  fome  few  individuals,  is  energy  in 
the  nation  at  large. 

The  hiftory  of  the  .vorld  does  not  prcfent  an  inflancc  of 
a  nation  aiTai led  by  fo  many  enennes  at  once,  lefs  terridrd 
at  the  thunder  of  the  charge,  or  keeping  them  at  bay  in 
every  quarter  whh  f.ich  obftinate  refolulion.  The  laft 
campaign,  which  v/ns  enough  to  have  crufhed  them  at 
once,  only  difplayedone  general  rnafs  of  valour  ;  and  if 
thev  yield,  the  next  campaign,  they  \viil  be  fubducd,  but 
they  will  not  be  degraded.  "  It  is  'greatly  the  intereft  of 
the  emigrants  that  the  French  fhould  rot  be  defpifed  ;  for 
whatever  their  nation  may  fuller  in  the  cftimation  of  1-u- 
ropc,  will  be  a  lofs  to  ihcmfeiver,.  They  have  already, 
for  the  laft  two  years,  been  guilty  of  a  great  rnifiake  m 
repreienting  to  foreign  powers  that  the  French  armies 
\verc  contemptible,  and  utterly  incapable  of  making  any 
refinance.  "  This  miftake,  which  has'  proved  fo  fatal  to  the 
PruiTians,  Ins  taken  away  all  credit  fiom  their  reports. 
Let  us  never  hear  fuch  mifreprcfer.triticns  again — ^They 
2;i;e  much  too  Iciiuu'j. 


(    260    ) 

The  French  nation,  colle&ively  tken,  will  always  be 
amiable.  She  is  labouring  at  this  mment  under  a  moral 
cliftemper,  whofe  dreadful  convulfiois  only  render  her  a 
greater  object  of  alarm.  Foreignrs  may  employ  the 
fword,  but  her  emigrant  offspring  fould  or.ly  approach 
her  with  the  foothing  accents  of  pefuafion  : — it  is  their 
intereft  todofo  :  their  defign  of  luperiducing  order  on  that 
ccnfufion  which  has  driven  them  fron  their  country,  will, 
otherwife,  every  month  and  every  yeek,  become  more 
perfectly  hopelefs. 

This  advice  is  not  the  refult  of  ba£'  compliance,  or  per- 
fonal  intereft,  or  ambition.  Genera  Dumourier  declares, 
and  his  Memoirs  will  prove,  that  h  reprobates  the  pre- 
ient  itate  of  things  in  France  ;  thatjie  fees  in  them  only 
the  fubverfion  of  every  rational  principle,  and  the  utter 
impracticability  of  promoting  pubic  happinefs  ;  he  de- 
clares, that  he  will  never  warp  to  fu<h  an  order  of  things  ; 
and  that  he  would  chufe  beggary,  pn>fcription,  wretched- 
nefsand  perpetual  exile,  in  prefererre  to  any  re-efrabliih- 
ment  in  his  country  that  mud  be  purhafed  by  the  facrifice 

of  his  moral  principles, but  he  declares,  too,  that  he 

loves  his  countrymen,  and  that  wfre  he  poignarded  in 
their  delirium  tomorrow,  he  wouli  breathe  out  his  lafl 
accents,  in  a  lamentation  of  their  errors,  and  a  bene- 
diction to  his  country. 


FINIS. 


Ifclfl 


yew 


GENERAL  LIBRARY  -  U.C.  BERKELEY 


6000801044 


